The Fourth's Legacy
by Yoshi Toranaga
Summary: The past always haunts us. Pain, suffering, guilt, memories... all these forge us to who we are now, and who we shall become. Fic takes place after manga chapter 325. Enjoy...
1. Hidan's End

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

"hello"-speech

"_hello_"-thoughts, jutsus, other Japanese words (hope they're right though)

"**hello**"-Kyuubi talking

This story takes place after Manga Chapter 325. Hope you like it.

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**Naruto: Chapter 1 – Hidan's End**

Night had come, and the three figures of Naruto, Kakashi, and Yamato sat around a bonfire, warming themselves. The sounds of water falling from Yamato's jutsu, the cackling of fire and occasional calls of animals were the only sounds to be heard. Yamato looked at Kakashi, and sensing the look, Kakashi nodded as if to himself and took out a worn out scroll from his pocket.

"Naruto" called Kakashi.

"Yes, sensei?" answered Naruto.

"This is for you" said Kakashi while handing the scroll to Naruto.

"What is it?"

"A letter…from your father."

"My…..my father?"

Kakashi nodded and said, "The scroll is sealed with a blood seal. So only you can be the one to read it".

Unable to contain his excitement, Naruto bit his thumb, smeared the seal with his blood and opened the scroll. The letter read:

_To my dearest son,_

_I deeply apologize that this letter only comes to you now. But I gave explicit rules to Konoha that this letter be given to you only when you are of jounin level and more experienced in the life of a shinobi or if your life is in grave danger. I have also given strict instructions that no one inform you or anyone else that you are my son. If enemies of Konoha were to know, then your reputation will only put you in more danger._

_I am writing this while the demon fox Kyuubi is attacking our beloved village. I know that I will not survive this encounter because of the need to contain him. My son, I have chosen you as the vessel for the Kyuubi. I do not know what will happen once the creature is sealed within you…but I know that you are strong and you will overcome any obstacle that will face you. It is you, and you alone whom I feel is worthy for this task. _

_Your mother and I love you deeply. My only regret is that we will not be there to watch over you. Thus, you must grow strong and never stop learning. Also remember that a good shinobi must adjust and cope in any situation...that is why I have always emphasized teamwork, because one grows strong with the help of others and your help to them. _

_Your loving father,_

_Uzumaki Arashi_

_Yondaime_

Tears began to fall from Naruto's eyes when he finished reading the letter. He rolled up the scroll and looked at Kakashi. Kakashi also mirrored Naruto's sadness and said, "Now you know. I'm sorry that we kept you in the dark, but the Yondaime had left instructions not to tell you…."

"I know….he said so in his letter", replied Naruto.

Yamato looked at Kakashi and said "I guess it is time to show him."

"Yes", replied Kakashi. "But let's rest for now and go tomorrow."

Naruto didn't know what they were talking about, and didn't care at the moment. He stood up, and started walking away.

"Naruto", Yamato started to call.

"No, let him be. After what he just found out, it's best he be left alone", said Kakashi and started to lie down and go to sleep.

Yamato looked at the figure of Naruto walking away with worry on his face, shook his head once and made ready to go to sleep.

Naruto had been walking for quite some time and was a bit far from the two jounins. Satisfied that he would not disturb them, he clenched his father's letter in his hand. "I will not disappoint you Father." "_Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

* * *

**Meanwhile – with Asuma, his team and the Akatsuki members**

Kakuzu looked at Asuma then at Shikamaru while holding the head of Hidan.

"Dammit! What are you standing around for? Get me back to my body so I can finish my ceremony!" Hidan's head said.

"Shut up! You had your chance with them. I told you this would happen if you got careless." Kakuzu said calmly. Kakuzu felt a faint but familiar chakra signature nearby. He changed his grip of Hidan's head and started to squeeze.

"What….what are you doing?" Hidan shouted.

"Cleaning up" said Kakuzu and closed his hand. Blood burst, staining the floor, and the Akatsuki member's uniform. He then dropped the crushed head, did a few one-handed seals and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Asuma, Shikamaru, Kotetsui and Izumo looked at the crushed head of Hidan in shock.

"He….he killed his own partner" mumbled Shikamaru.

Asuma nodded and looked at his team. "We must get Chiriku's body. He deserves a proper funeral" and walked away from the dead body towards the nearby Bounty Station.

"But senpai, what about the other member?" asked Kotetsui.

"_Shigata ga nai _(nothing can be done). We don't know where he's teleported to. We'll get the Inuzuka clan to help us, but we must first report to Hokage-sama" replied Asuma. "And bring the head and the body. We'll have it put in a body bag at the Bounty Station and show it to Hokage-sama."

Kotetsui hoisted the body on to his shoulder while Izumo retrieved the head.

Shikamaru now and then glanced at the remains of Hidan thinking "These Akatsuki guys……they just don't care…." His body trembled with what he just witnessed and re-evaluated why he was a shinobi.

"How troublesome" he thought.

Once the team had left, Zetsu appeared at a far distance, rising from the ground. "Kakuzu has yet again killed another partner…should we retrieve the body?" the white side of Zetsu said.

"No, it would be a bother to fight them and revive the religious fanatic" said the dark side of Zetsu. "Yes…..it would be…" said the white side. And with that, Zetsu slid back down into the ground as if he was never there.

_The next day_

Dawn was coming and smoke was the only traces left of the bonfire the night before. Captain Yamato woke up to see Kakashi reading his Icha-icha tactics with his and Naruto's gear already packed up.

"Where's Naruto?" asked Yamato.

"Sleeping at the far side of the camp, exhausted from training the whole night."

Yamato packed up his gear and said "Kakashi-senpai, can you bring the gear? I'll carry Naruto."

"_Yosh_."

Kakashi led the way through the dense forest while Yamato carried Naruto on his back. Every now and then Naruto would mumble something, and Yamato would glance at him occasionally, concerned for the boy.

Naruto woke up to find himself in a dark and dank but familiar place. "Huh? What am I doing here?"

"**I wished to speak with you" **said the Kyuubi.

"Huh? What for?"

"**I observed while you were training the whole night. You are still weak."**

"Shut up! I WILL complete this justu! I have to….for my father…"

"**Ahhh yes. The man who sealed me and now I am contained within his son. How ironic."**

Naruto looked angrily at the demon fox "What would you know?" then realized "And how do you know he's my father? I only found out moments ago."

The demon fox chuckled at him and said "**I reside in your body. I can hear your thoughts and….you can hear mine, if you knew how to listen."**

"Hmp", said Naruto. Then looked down, saddened by the death of his father and the cause of it was right in front of him.

"**You are still weak….you let emotion affect you, and now you do not wish to use my chakra? How do you expect to grow strong?"**

Naruto gave the demon fox a determined look. "With hard work, I may not be a genius, but as fuzzy-eyebrows said, genius can be beaten with hard work."

"**_Baka_" **the demon fox thought, "**_But if he dies, I die along with him…._"**

"**Very well, I will teach you. But only because of the brave act your father did. Such quality deserves rewards, _neh?_"**

"Eh? Teach me? Teach me what?" Naruto asked excitedly. But the Kyuubi sank deeper into his cage and suddenly sent a wave of chakra that knocked Naruto off his feet and banged his head on the floor, darkness enveloping him once more.

Naruto woke up to find himself being carried on Yamato's back. "Sensei, where are we going?"

"To Yondaime's hidden house. He left it to you" replied Yamato.

"We're here" said Kakashi.

The two jounins stopped in front of a large rock formation at the edge of the forest. Behind the rock formation, a crystal clear lake could be seen not far off.

"Naruto, please put Yondaime's scroll in front of the three of us" said Kakashi.

Naruto nodded and took out the scroll from his pocket, but still confused as to what was going on.

"Now, the two of you follow the seals I will make, and then direct a small amount of chakra to the scroll."

Kakashi started slowly doing a series of hand seals, while Yamato and Naruto quickly copied what he was doing. Once the seals were complete, they held their hands over the scroll.

Kakashi shouted "_Kai!_"

Slowly, the rock formation began to disappear, replaced by a two story house. Yamato and Naruto looked at the house in surprise.

"I didn't even detect any chakra signature. That is a really powerful genjutsu!" said Yamato.

"As expected from the Fourth Hokage" replied Kakashi.

The three entered the house. Kakashi turned to Yamato and said "Tenzou, can you please make us some breakfast? I'll show Naruto around". Yamato nodded and headed for the kitchen. Kakashi gestured for Naruto to follow him and went the rear area of the house where a large bookcase stood.

"Naruto, this secret compartment is sealed by a blood seal, please open it" said Kakashi while pointing at a nondescript book. Naruto pricked his finger with a kunai and smeared his blood on the book after which Kakashi pulled the top of the book outwards, and the bookcase slid aside revealing a large room with numerous scrolls, kunai, and a large desk in the far end with a katana on it.

"This is all yours" said Kakashi while heading for the table.

Naruto looked at everything open-mouthed and slowly followed Kakashi.

There was a note beside the katana which read:

_Kakashi,_

_I know that if Naruto were to be able to find this place, it would be you who would be the one to show him. This sword is the last of the Yoshimoto swords. It was a gift from the great sword-smith himself on my first year as Hokage. Please give it to my son._

Kakashi looked at the katana in wonder and gingerly touched the sheathed sword.

"What is it, sensei?" asked Naruto.

"This sword….was made especially for Yondaime….by the greatest sword-smith to have walked this earth. The last of the Yoshimoto blades. Only 9 are known to have ever been made, the first was given to one of the ancestors of the late Emperor Jimmu Tenno, the others to powerful Daimyos, and it is popular belief that the last was never finished...but here it is."

Kakashi placed the katana in Naruto's hands. Naruto started to unsheathe the blade but Kakashi interrupted "Don't draw the blade in full length unless you intend to use it."

Naruto nodded and looked at the unsheathed part of the blade, luminous in the darkness.

Kakashi nodded and smiled "Good, I'll leave you to explore. I'll see if Yamato needs help with the cooking. I know you've got a big appetite" and headed for the kitchen.

Naruto sat down on the chair behind the desk, still looking at the beauty of the blade.

"**Draw the blade out" **whispered the Kyuubi.

Naruto jumped in surprise and thought "_What the.."_

"**It seems the knowledge about your father has heightened your senses…now, draw the blade out."**

"_But Kakashi-sensei told me not to unless I intended to use it_."

"**There is no one here to use it on is there? I wish to see the full length of the blade as well."**

Naruto hesitated a moment, but seeing nothing wrong with the Kyuubi's reasoning started pulling out the full length of the sword. As he did so, the blade sang as it left its scabbard and seemed to come alive in his hands.

"**Now, pour your chakra into the sword."**

"_Why? It's just a sword, not like the chakra knives that Asuma-sensei has_."

"**_Baka!_ Just do as I say!"**

Naruto trembled with anger and in doing so accidentally emanated chakra from his body. The blue chakra suddenly transferred from Naruto onto the blade of the sword, forming a sort of secondary length to the already long blade.

"_He…hey! The steel also uses chakra…"_

"**Only wind-natured chakra…The man who sealed me was wind-natured as well."**

"_Dosu_ _was also wind-natured?"_

"**Yes, I sensed the same chakra signature in him and in you. Now, look at those kunai on the shelf there"**

Naruto sheathed the sword, slung it onto his back and walked over to the weird looking kunai on the shelf. Each kunai had three prongs and had a seal written on the handle. He took one in his hand and as if it came naturally, twirled the kunai on his fingers.

"**These kunai also use wind-natured chakra.**"

"_How do you know?"_

"**He used them against me at the early stages of our battle.**"

Naruto nodded in understanding and transferred chakra on the kunai. His chakra encompassed the kunai but wasn't as sharp edged as Asuma's was.

"I'll start using these instead of the ordinary kunai I have" thought Naruto. The Kyuubi grunted in agreement.

"Thanks Kyuubi."

The demon fox remained silent. Naruto walked over to the shelf with scrolls and began perusing them. Written on one scroll was "_Shunshin no jutsu_(Body Flicker)."

"Hmmm, this looks interesting" opened it and began reading the contents of the scroll.

After an hour or so, Kakashi came in and announced "Food's ready."

After the meal, Naruto gathered the plates and made to wash them. Kakashi gestured Yamato to follow him outside the house.

"Tenzou, please inform the Hokage of where Naruto and I will be for the next following days. I will supervise his training here" said Kakashi.

"But what if the Kyuubi's chakra comes out again? You'll need my help" replied Yamato.

Kakashi took out a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to Yamato. "I still have these. They're from Jiraiya. I can stop the Kyuubi's chakra with it."

Yamato nodded, grabbed his gear from the house, said farewell to Naruto and Kakashi and began the journey to Konoha.

Kakashi looked at Naruto and said "Let's continue your training."

"Yosh!" shouted Naruto with a fierce determination.

* * *


	2. Training Anew

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto

"hello"- speech

"_hello_"- thoughts, jutsus, other Japanese words (hope they're right though)

"**hello**"- Kyuubi talking

* * *

**Naruto: Chapter 2 – Training Anew**

"Okay. Continue putting wind-natured chakra into your Rasengan" said Kakashi.

Naruto replied "Kakashi-sensei, do you think you can teach me Shunshin no jutsu"

Kakashi thought for a moment then said "Yes, but we should be concentrating more on developing your new jutsu. But here's what we will do, make a thousand clones. Have 800 try to develop the new jutsu and have the other 200 learn Shunshin no jutsu"

Kakashi formed a seal and said "Kage Bunshin no jutsu." Kakashi's clone appeared beside him and said "Okay, have the 200 follow me across the lake so there will be no distractions between the two groups."

Naruto nodded, formed a seal and said "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto looked around at his bunshins and said "200 of us please go with Kakashi-sensei's bunshin across the lake."

"Yosh!" said many of Naruto's bunshin and started to march off.

The original Kakashi looked at the remaining Narutos and said "Good. Begin."

Half of the 800 formed chakra onto a partners hand to begin forming the Rasengan. Once formed, the same half tried putting wind chakra onto the blue, round sphere. Partners took turns forming the rasengan. Because of the numerous number of Narutos, wind came about in all directions, growing stronger every second. At times, a bunshin would accidentally touch a rasengan and be gone in a puff of smoke, forcing the partner to re-summon a counterpart bunshin. Others would just try to add more chakra into the rasengan and soon disappear out of pure fatigue, but the partner would summon another counterpart bunshin.

Kakashi looked on.

* * *

**Meanwhile, with the 2nd group**

"Ok, Shunshin no jutsu is a teleportation jutsu with a D-rank. In truth, this jutsu is just a really, really high-speed movement technique. You use chakra to boost your movement, so, it would appear as if you teleported. It's a pretty easy jutsu to do, but chakra usage depends on the distance of where you intend to go." said the bunshin Kakashi.

"Hmm, I remember when I fought with Neji, I used the nine-tails' chakra and I was noticeably faster." asked one of the Narutos.

"Yes. Gai told me about that. But for this technique, you must be faster than when you fought with Neji ….like this." And as fast as a blink Kakashi was gone in a puff of smoke.

The bunshins looked in shock at the spot where Kakashi was and began to look around to see where he had gone to.

"Up here." Kakashi was now on top of the tallest tree branch of a nearby tree. And before the Naruto bunshins could say a word, Kakashi disappeared again to appear at the original spot of where he'd been.

"Wow!" "Cool!" "That was fast!" said the Naruto bunshins simultaneously.

"Sometimes, others would make a distraction so that the opponents' attention is not focused on the jutsu user" said Kakashi with hands in his pockets "Don't forget, the farther you plan to go, the more chakra is needed to get to that area. Any more questions?"

"Yes, could you please explain the concept one more time? I didn't understand it the first time" said a bunshin with a sheepish grin.

Kakashi closed his eyes and sighed in desperation.

* * *

**Sunset. Shunshin no jutsu group**

The Bunshin Kakashi was sitting on a rock in the shade while reading a book. He looked up at the sky to judge the time and said "Naruto, lets go back to the house. It's almost supper time."

"That's okay Kakashi-sensei. We'll just keep on training here."

"No. You'll be too tired to train tomorrow if you do it too much. And besides, you've made some progress. You are significantly faster just using your own chakra now."

Naruto smiled and only redoubled his efforts.

"Hai, hai, hai." said Kakashi while waving his hand up and down. "I'll go ahead of you then." And with that the bunshin Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

**New Jutsu group**

The real Kakashi was standing on the front steps of the house looking at the 800 Narutos lying on the ground exhausted. After the bunshin Kakashi disappeared, knowledge of the other group's progress and development of Icha-icha tactics came to him from the knowledge of his bunshin.

"_Seems like some progress has been done with the other group at least_" thought Kakashi. "Naruto, I'm going in to start making dinner for us. That is enough training for today."

The original Naruto looked at Kakashi as he walked into the house and thought "_Dammit! This new jutsu is hard! It's been days since I started training and I still don't know if I'm making progress or not. I wonder how the other 200 of me is doing._"

"**Go to the side of the other 200**" said the demon fox.

Naruto jolted in surprise then thought "_What for? I'm still training on developing the new jutsu on this side_."

"**Your not getting anywhere on this new jutsu. Go to the others. The body flicker is a simple jutsu, and with my help, you can learn it quickly."**

Naruto started to run to the other side of the lake, towards the second group.

When Naruto arrived Kyuubi said "**Have half of your bunshins disappear.**"

"_Why?_"

"**Baka! Must you question everything I say? In doing so, their knowledge of what Kakashi has taught them will transfer to you and will save time for further explanation!**"

Naruto called the attention of the second group then said "Will a hundred of you please release the clone technique so that I can know what Kakashi-sensei has taught us so far."

After that, some of the bunshins nodded their head and disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind the other half left.

Naruto stood quietly for a moment as the knowledge of the bunshins came to him.

Then Kyuubi said "**Your bunshins did not analyze what Kakashi said thoroughly. He said to do it in less than a second. Tell them to charge the chakra at the center of the mass and compress it tightly. Focus all your senses on the desired spot. Then suddenly release the compressed chakra and go to the intended area. The momentum of the release is the key point of this jutsu.**"

"_Momentum……okay.**"**_

"Alright everyone, this is what Kyuubi said…"

Kakashi had finished preparing the meal and walked outside to call Naruto. To his mild surprise, all but one Naruto was left. Naruto was walking towards him with a smile on his face.

"**Don't tell him.**"

Naruto stopped on his tracks and thought "_Why not?_"

"**You do not give all your secrets to everyone. Some things must be left for you and for you alone. Otherwise you are like an open book for all to see. The element of surprise is a menacing advantage. Use it.**"

"_On Kakashi-sensei?_"

"**No….on everyone.**"

"What's wrong Naruto?" asked Kakashi.

"N...nothing, sensei. I…I was just trying to guess what you were cooking from the smell" replied Naruto.

Kakashi smiled and said "_Katsu don _(breaded pork cutlet on rice). I think you'll like it."

"Alright! Hehe." And with that, Naruto ran inside with Kakashi trailing behind.

On the table was a large bowl. "That's yours. I already ate my share" said Kakashi.

Naruto sat down broke his chopsticks and yelled "Itadakimas!"

Kakashi had gone ahead to his room on the second floor. "_Probably gonna continue reading that Icha-icha tactics book" _thought Naruto.

"**Go to the secret room**" said Kyuubi.

Naruto jolted in surprise and thought "_Damn fox, stop scaring me like that!_"

"**What do you want me to do? Whisper to you? Baka! Just go!**"

Naruto walked to the room while mumbling curses to the demon fox.

"**There is something hidden in the table...**"

Naruto walked over to the singe table where the katana was laid when first they arrived and looked at it thoroughly. There was no light in the room but that of coming from the next room. Naruto lit a candle he found in one of the shelves and held the candle over the desktop. He could now see a very faint line in the form of a square in the center. He would've totally missed it if he wasn't looking for anything out of the ordinary and wondered how the Kyuubi knew about it.

"**Perhaps it is sealed by a blood seal.**"

"_There are no markings to smear blood on. Maybe..._" Naruto put his hand on the center of the faint rectangular cut out and applied chakra.

"_Nothing..._" Naruto sighed and leaned on his hand that was resting when the panel suddenly pressed down and slid out making Naruto loose his balance and bang his chin on the table edge and pouring hot wax on his cheek.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!" said Naruto, getting on his feet and rubbing a hand on his chin and then wiping the dried wax from his cheek.

"**What is inside?**"

Naruto reluctantly approached the table and looked at the deep, hidden compartment, still rubbing his sore chin. "_There are 2 scrolls, a big one and a smaller one."_ Naruto picked up the two scrolls and turned them so he could read the labels. "_Hmmm…Hiraishin no Jutsu _(Flying Thunder God Technique) _and...a summoning contract!_" Naruto placed the scrolls aside and saw a letter in the bottom of the compartment. He picked it up and read it. "_It's from Father…"_

_Naruto,_

_I hope you find this. These 2 scrolls are hidden jutsus of our village. The summoning contract was a gift from Sandaime-sama and the Hiraishin no Jutsu I pass on to you. Inside the jutsu scroll are detailed instructions so you can train by yourself. Keep them secret and pass them on only to the next of kin whom you deem is worthy._

Naruto opened the _Hiraishin no Jutsu scroll_ and read the contents, hoping that the demon fox would help him somehow when he trained. "_Hmmm, it says here that this jutsu is similar to a summoning technique in concept. But instead of a summoning, you summon yourself to the intended area…huh?_" thought Naruto while scratching his head. Naruto finished reading the scroll, headed for a shelf with boxes and peeked inside one. The contents were written jutsus cut-outs and not more than 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. The written markings were similar to that of the markings on the 3-pronged kunai.

"**These are the trigger markers..**"

Naruto grunted in agreement. "_The scroll said that these are needed as part of the jutsu but that the special kunai would also work."_

"**Try them…**"

Naruto shrugged, closed his eyes and focused chakra on the trigger marker and tossed it.

"**Do you know where it landed?**"

Naruto was very surprised that he actually knew where it landed exactly. "_Ye...yes. It stuck on the base of the bookcase with the scrolls on them. At my rear right side_."

"**Good. Equip these. You might need them soon.**"

Naruto was thinking the same thing and put some in his equipment pouch. "_Now for the summoning contract.._" Naruto opened the larger scroll and found the note from his father while also noting that the last 2 names signed on the contract were the only ones familiar to him. Sarutobi, and Uzumaki Arashi. Naruto read the note while trying to memorize the hand seals for the summoning. He pocketed the note, bit his thumb, signed the contract and rolled it up again. After returning it at the compartment, he sealed the panel and started to do the series of hand seals.

"**Wait. Do it outside."**

"_Why? It's cold out there._"

"**Stupid brat! You don't even know what you are summoning!**"

"_I do! It's supposed to be a monkey!_"

"**And do you know how big it is?**"

Naruto couldn't think of a witty comeback, so he trudged on outside. "Fine! I'm outside already! Now stop bugging me!"

Naruto saw that blood was still present on his thumb and started doing the hand seals. "O-ushi, Uma, Ryu, Inu, Saru (Ox, horse, dragon, dog, monkey)""Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Seal markings appeared in a straight line away from Naruto, and smoke burst from the ground. When the smoke had cleared, a large monkey, much taller than Naruto and with white hair was standing before him.

"**Who…are you?**" said Enma.

* * *

Next chapter's title: **Konoha Infiltrated**


	3. Konoha Infiltrated

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

"hello"-speech

"_hello_"-thoughts, jutsus, other Japanese words (hope they're right though)

"**hello**"-Kyuubi or Enma talking

This story takes place after Manga Chapter 325. Hope you like it.

* * *

**Naruto: Chapter 3 - Konoha Infiltrated**

It was already nighttime when Team Asuma returned to Konoha, carrying the body of Chiriku and the remains of Hidan. From one of the buildings, Kurenai was anxiously waiting for the return of her mate. When she saw their outlines at the main gates, she rushed out to meet them. She collided into Asuma's arms and knocked the wind out of him.

"Oof!" exclaimed Asuma. He was about to scold her when he noticed that her shoulders were shaking and her head was against his chest. Meanwhile, Kotetsui, Izuma, and Shikamaru were busy trying to look at something else.

"I thought you'd never come back", said Kurenai while in soft tears. Asuma smiled, kissed her forehead and held her shoulders away a bit so he could look into her eyes. "I'm back this time aren't I? We'll talk later. I have to report to Hokage-sama" replied Asuma. Kurenai nodded, stepped aside and looked on as the four made their way to Hokage Tower.

Tsunade was busy reading reports from the other Akatsuki hunters when there was a knock on her door. "Enter!" said Tsunade.

Team Asuma entered and stood in line facing the hokage with Asuma in the center.

Tsunade smiled, glad to see that Team Asuma came back alright. "Report."

"Hokage-sama," started Asuma, "We were able to defeat 1 Akatsuki member. We brought back his body for scientific study, as well as Chiriku's body."

"I see. I assume this is the 'immortal' you indicated in your reports?"

"Yes, his teammate saw that he was outnumbered and retreated, but not before crushing the head of his colleague."

Tsunade frowned at the Akatsuki's methods, then replied "Very well. Please leave the immortal's body at Lab 2. I'll do an autopsy to find out more on his 'immortality', and please bring Chiriku's body to the temple for a proper burial…..I'm sorry Asuma. I knew he was a close friend of yours."

Asuma nodded in reply, and the four walked out.

Tsunade stood and looked out her window, unable to shake a feeling of foreboding.

* * *

**Later in the night**

Hidan's body was placed on a long narrow table while his head was placed at a different nearby table. The left-rear side and top of his head was crushed, and blood still trickled from his neck. Slowly, his eyes opened. The room was dark, and filled with books, glass jars with something inside, and a faint scent of formaldehyde could be discerned.

His head was lying on its left side. Hidan started moving his mouth and cheeks to maneuver his head so that he could clearly see the Akatsuki ring on his finger. He closed his eyes, and concentrated on the ring. The symbol in the ring began to glow deep red.

Kakuzu was meditating in the lotus position, far away from the last battle with the Konoha shinobi when he felt the disturbance in his own ring. "_Good work, Hidan."_ thought Kakuzu, and started moving towards Konoha.

* * *

**Meanwhile, with Naruto**

"**I asked you who you were….or are you deaf?**" asked Enma.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I am going to be the future Hokage!" replied Naruto determinedly.

"_**Baka!**"_ thought the Kyuubi and Enma simultaneously.

"**And why did you summon me here, oh future hokage?**" asked Enma sarcastically.

Naruto shrugged and said "I just wanted to see what kind of monkey I was summoning, I guess."

Enma's face contorted into anger and suddenly rushed at Naruto in very high speed and punched him in the stomach, shifted and kicked him at the chest, propelling Naruto 6 feet away from him and knocking him face-down into the ground.

Naruto got the wind knocked out of him and had a hard time breathing and slowly got up, while putting a hand on to his lift rib where he thought he heard a crack. "_That old geezer packs a punch!"_ thought Naruto. "**He is strong…and fast**" said the Kyuubi to Naruto. Naruto nodded in reply.

"What the hell did you do that for, you old hair-ball?!" shouted Naruto.

"**I do not work with idiots who are weak and are a waste of time**" said Enma, who started walking away. (A/N: monkey style, which means on all fours.)

Naruto began to shake in anger and wanted to beat the monkey to a pulp. "**Yes……yes, let's kill him Naruto…**" said the Kyuubi deliciously.

The elder monkey stopped, sensing Naruto building up chakra, and detecting a killer intent…."_But not from the boy…the Kyuubi!!_" realized Enma, and barely managed to jump away when Naruto swung his sword.

"_He's fast. So, this must be the container for the nine-tailed demon fox. This could prove interesting…_**" **thought Enma. He shifted his feet apart flexed his hands and said "**Come!**"

Naruto looked at his opponent, quickly glanced behind him and back at the monkey again. "_Good, we are a bit far away from the house. Hmmm, the monkey holds no weapons, and judging from what he did to me earlier, is very adept at taijutsu…good thing I practiced with fuzzy-eyebrows every now and then." _

"**That thick-browed freak's taijutsu is no match for the elder monkey. Unless he unleashed the five gates…**" commented the Kyuubi.

"_That could be true. But we hardly know anything about the monkey… let's see what he's capable of, then we'll up the stakes._"

Naruto rushed at his opponent, sword held downwards for an upward strike. Enma jumped up, in time before the blade made contact, performed some hand seals then said "**Katon: Haishekishu!**" The volcanic dust cloud came roaring down, making Naruto roll to the far left. As he rolled, he grabbed 2 kunai and threw them at the monkey who was still in mid-air.

Seeing the kunai, Enma quickly did a hand seal and said "**Henge!!**" and formed into the free-forming diamond pole. The kunai harmlessly bounced off him and he came whirling down on Naruto's position to crush him.

Naruto quickly jumped back, but as one end of the pole struck ground, an eye appeared in the middle of the pole and then a hand snaked out and made to grab Naruto's neck to pin him against the tree behind him.

Naruto quickly compressed chakra in the center of his mass and released it as he body flickered behind the pole. He did a horizontal strike with sword on his left hand but didn't make contact since the arm, instead of hitting the tree, went for the ground to jump lift the pole. In the arc of the jump, Enma released his Henge noh jutsu and returned to monkey form.

Naruto, seeing midway of his strike, knew that he would miss and instantly rotated his left hand to continue an upward-center strike while pouring chakra into the sword to form the secondary blade. The wind blade extension made contact with Enma's right heel and nicked some flesh off.

Enma landed about 6 feet away from Naruto and grimaced when he applied weight on his right foot.

Both were now breathing heavily from the battle. Naruto shifted his stance, feet apart and made ready to flicker behind the monkey when Enma suddenly said "**You've drawn first blood…no one has been able to do that. Not even Sarutobi during our first battle. You just might have potential, Naruto.**"

Naruto was surprised and sheathed his katana, seeing that the battle was now over. "Monkey boss, sir. May I ask for your name?" asked an eager Naruto.

"**I am Enma, the elder monkey. I haven't had an exercise like that for quite awhile now…since Sarutobi died**" sadly replied the elder monkey. Naruto remained silent, not knowing what to say.

"**I noticed you used _Shunshin no justu_ just now. That was the trademark move of the Yondaime and he brought it to a whole new level when fighting.**" commented Enma.

"Yes. I'm trying to integrate it into my fighting style" smiled Naruto proudly.

"**It was good. But not perfect.**"

Naruto's smile quickly melted away.

"**Also, you have poor taijustsu.**"

"Okay! Okay! I know already, you don't have too push it you know?!"

Enma merely chuckled then looked thoughtful for a moment. Then as if agreeing with himself stated "**I will train you in taijutsu and how to incorporate the body flicker into it.**"

"Really? Thank you, Enma-sensei!!"

"**Summon me again this time tomorrow. Until then…**" and with that, the elder monkey disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"**You should've used _Renku dan_ while he was in mid-air**" said the Kyuubi.

"What's _Renku dan_(air blast)?" asked Naruto.

The Kyuubi sigh in disgust then said "**Have you forgotten when you fought with Shikaku?! _Renku dan_ is air intermingled with chakra. When the blast hits its target, the encompassing chakra will be very painful thus causing physical damage. The majority of air intermingled with the chakra lies in the interior of the sphere. Once the exterior chakra is gone after impact, the air still continues with its course...into the body of your target, doing some damage to internal organs as well as forcing remaining oxygen out of the body.**"

"So the last part means I'll just be leaving my enemy breathless?" asked a doubting Naruto.

"**Yes. But what shinobi can fight if he isn't breathing right, _neh?_**" smiled the Kyuubi evilly.

Naruto now nodded in agreement.

"**I will teach you _Renku dan _and another jutsu to counter fire jutsus.**"

"Eh? What justu, huh? Huh?"

"**Patience. I will show you while you sleep. Visit me then. That way, I can be more visual.**"

Naruto wanted to learn the jutsu right then and there and argued with the Kyuubi, but couldn't win the argument, so he headed back for the house to get to bed.

* * *

**Back at Konoha**

It had taken Kakuzu 2 hours to reach Konoha. He was now on the outermost wall. He observed his surroundings to see where good entry points would be. Seeing his opportunity during the next shift in the guards, he quickly slipped over the wall unnoticed by the darkness. Once inside, he remained on top of rooftops as he headed for the signal of Hidan's ring.

Unknowingly, he was headed for Konoha hospital. When he arrived, he once more scanned the area for sentries. Kakuzu was very careful. Once he confirmed that there were none, he slipped into a window on the east wing. The room he entered into was empty of any people or patient. He quickly moved to the door, opened it a crack, saw no one and was now in the hallway. He quickly made his way forward, always feeling for the intermittent signal from Hidan. He finally come upon a door marked 'Laboratory 2'. This was where the signal felt strongest. He quietly entered and closed the door behind him. That was when he saw Hidan's body and head on two different tables.

"Hello Hidan" said Kakuzu in a low voice, almost a whisper.

Hidan opened his eyes. He had kept the closed all this time to maintain the illusion that he was dead. "What the fuck took you so long! My heart has stopped beating and could be irreparable!" whispered Hidan fiercely.

"Shut up. You can always 'get' another one" replied Kakuzu while carrying Hidan's head to the body. He then pulled his sleeves back to reveal hands sewn together like a rag doll. These 'seams' started to unravel and 'sew' Hidan's head together with his body.

"Ouch…it still hurts when I try to turn my head." said Hidan, now standing up. "My hearts also stopped beating, I can only go on like this for 3 days."

"So we'll get you another one." said Kakuzu calmly. "Now, let's move out and finish our reconnaissance mission."

"No! I wanna find that bastard that cut my head and take his heart!!" said Hidan.

"We don't have the time. It'll be morning soon. And HE said that reconnaissance was the top priority of our mission." replied Kakuzu.

Hidan snorted in anger but remembered the orders and slowly followed Kakuzu outside.

While they still had the cover of darkness to aid them, the 2 akatsuki members checked on sentry posts, probable weak areas, and geographical advantages. When they had gathered enough data, they quickly made their escape, unnoticed, into the darkness.

Operation "Clean-up" was a success.

* * *

I'm trying to keep the fanfic as closely with the Manga as I can, in terms of a person's jutsu style and fighting techniques.

Also, would you please state whether you want more detail done in terms of the new jutsus that Naruto will be learning or "to hell with how it is done"? Would really appreciate your views on that.


	4. Immortals Attack

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. But how I wish I damn do.

"hello"- speech, common jutsus

"_hello_"- thoughts, other Japanese words (hope they're right though)

"**hello**"- Kyuubi talking, or some other kick ass jutsu

Thank you for all my reviews and 1 flame so far. Sorry for the very late update. I was really busy doing…stuff. This is Chapter 338 – 339 from the Manga, but with a slight twist. Anyways, here is chapter 4. Enjoy.

**Mikomimaru** – I don't know about the typo. The manga said _Shunshin_.

**Flame Rising** – Hehe. Good luck with your flaming streak.

* * *

**Naruto: Chapter 4 – Immortals Attack**

She was frustrated. That morning, when she went inside laboratory 2, the body nor the head of the Akatsuki member was no where to be seen. She quickly called Shizune and told her to have Izumo, Kotetsui, Shikamaru, Yamato and Asuma assemble at her office immediately.

The five shinobi arrived a few minutes later and formed a line a few feet from her desk. Her elbows rested on the desktop with right hand fisted and the left clasped the right, cracking a knuckle now and then. They couldn't see her mouth, only those beautiful brown, but very angry eyes.

"The immortal's body is gone." said Tsunade.

The four shinobi who had defeated Hidan, or thought they did, went wide eyed in shock. "H…how? His head was crushed to a pulp?!" stuttered Kotetsui.

"I don't know, but if he's alive, he must be found and…" she was going to say 'killed' but seeing as this seemed impossible she changed her words and said "..incapacitated."

"Yamato, go and replace Kakashi for now. We need his sharingan on this. Kotetsui, Izumo, go find Ibiki and help him interrogate that bounty hunter. Asuma, Shikamaru, call Ino and Chouji, they'll replace Kotetsui and Izumo. Also, Kakashi will join your team, making it a five man team. Now, Move out!!"

The four shinobi quickly disappeared to follow the Hokage's instructions.

Sakura was waiting outside the Hokage's office. She heard from Shizune about the Akatsuki member's missing body. She remembered seeing it yesterday when she was preparing Laboratory 2 for Team Asuma to bring the body. When they entered, her eyes froze in shock upon seeing the crushed head. She automatically went into her medical mode and scanned the entire body for other causes of death. "_Cerebral hemorrhage is the likely suspect but I hope I get to do the autopsy with Tsunade-shishou tomorrow."_

"Sakura!!"

It was Tsunade's calling her that brought her back to the present. She opened the door and quickly stepped before the Godaime.

"I need for you and Sai to stand ready. You, Sai, Yamato and Naruto will act as Team Asuma's back-up." Tsunade quickly rummaged at the files on her desk for Asuma's report of the battle with the Akatsuki members. "Here, read this. It contains some details of the fighting styles the 2 Akatuski members use."

Sakura received the report from Tsunade and thought "_Akatsuki…why are they after Naruto?"_

"Hai!!" said Sakura and exited the office to look for Sai.

Tsunade slumped down back on her chair, looked out the window and thought "_Naruto, please complete the jutsu…"_

* * *

**Meanwhile, with Kakashi and Naruto **

He was sweating profusely and turned his eyes to the sun, willing a cloud to cover the heat. He cursed at himself for letting distractions get in his mind and focused once more to the task at hand. He looked at his partner who was breathing heavily. Shoulders hunched in fatigue, clothes soaked with sweat and a dirty hand out-stretched, palm facing upwards and waiting for him.

He sighs, holds his hands over the palm and begins to manipulate his partner's chakra. A small blue orb begins to take shape, spinning, faster and faster. As his partner pours more chakra into the orb, it grows larger until it is relatively the size of a baseball. "_The first step is done_" he thinks, and begins to summon chakra into his own fingertips, but this time, he lets his chakra control the air…the wind…his affinity. He manipulates the chakra, as a baker would knead dough, mixing and turning. Shaping the wind chakra and willing it to enter into the blue sphere. But his body was tired, and his eye-lids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. Exhaustion overwhelms him, and he collapses to the floor and disappears in a puff of smoke, sharing the fate of many before him in this hot morning.

The training had begun at 6 in the morning, with Kakashi unusually strict than his past demeanor had shown. Naruto informed Kakashi that he wanted to concentrate on developing the new rasengan and work on the _Shunshin no jutsu _later to which Kakashi agreed, not knowing that Naruto had already learned this technique by himself with Kyuubi's help.

"Damn it!" exclaims the partner, and looks at a nearby clone. "Hey you. Can you please continue with me and let your partner rest a bit?" The other clone shrugged and was about to continue what the previous clone was doing when Kakashi called out.

"Naruto, are you okay?' asked Kakashi.

"Yeah, I'm okay." replied Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei, can you give me some more tips? Making this new technique is impossible!!"

Kakashi merely smiled. "You can do it Naruto. I believe in you."

Naruto smiled at this and said "Thank you, but still…how am I supposed to make this new technique? It's like asking me to look at the left and look at the right in the same time!!"

Kakashi looked thoughtful for a moment, and then suddenly formed a hand seal. In a puff of smoke, 2 Kakashi clones appeared. One was looking to the left while the other was looking to the right. "I'm looking at 2 directions at the same time, Naruto...3 directions in fact" said the original Kakashi with a smile in his eyes. "Hehe, I know that wasn't much of a help, but don't forget, even the Yondaime wasn't able to figure this out, but you've learned so much already in a span of a couple of days!"

Kakashi looked at Naruto and suddenly rolled his visible eye.

Naruto wasn't even listening. He had a hand to his lips, thinking with a far-away look. Suddenly, he ran back to where the other clones were and dispelled the other clones, all except two. He whispered excitedly at them then held his right palm upwards. The two clones placed their hands above the palm and started summoning chakra.

Soon a sphere starts to grow and four small ethereal spikes begin to protrude. Spinning around the sphere in a fast and steady pace. His partners smile with glee as the fruits of their labor begin to take shape.

"I think that's all I can manage for now, Kakashi-sensei" smiled Naruto.

"So, my little joke was actually useful, huh? Hehe. You've finally mixed shape manipulation and nature manipulation together. Good work Naruto!" said Kakashi with a smile.

Kakashi walked over, stretched his arm out and formed a rasengan. "Now, slam your rasengan into mine."

"What?!" shouted Naruto. "Are you crazy?! And since when did you learn the rasengan?! "

Kakashi let out an exasperated sigh then quickly ran towards the blonde, with his rasengan outstretched, aiming for Naruto's chest. "I'm not called copy cat Kakashi for nothing, Naruto" replied the silver-haired jounin.

The blonde looked on in horror at the fast approaching jounin and quickly held out his own rasengan to meet that of his sensei's. The other two clones stopped at their jumping and patting at the back with joy to look at the situation with interest. The two rasengans finally met with a deafening sound. A dust cloud had covered the area where Kakashi and the clone would have collided. When it had cleared, they saw a visibly shaking Naruto, and behind him, a Kakashi still in the forward stance and an arm outstretched.

Then they saw the blood.

It was coming from Kakashi's hand.

The shaking blonde quickly turned around and started shouting "Have you gone out of your mind?! Charging at me like that and….oh…" Naruto stopped his ranting upon seeing Kakashi's wounded hand. Kakashi let out another sigh and said "It is certainly stronger, but still far from being finished. Please continue."

The blonde merely nodded, not knowing what to say and summoned another hundred clones to resume his training. Kakashi reached into his pouch to get some bandages for the painful wound….no…wounds on his hand. It was as if a hundred razors had feasted on his right hand.

He finished bandaging the wound and was about to sit down and read Icha-Icha tactics when he felt a presence approaching.

"_Yamato_" he thought.

Yamato jumped down from the forest to the clearing where the hundreds of clones were training. He waved at Kakashi and said "Hello Kakashi-sempai. How's it going?"

"Slow…but still progressing. Any news from Konoha?"

"Yes. Hokage-sama wishes to speak with you" replied Yamato while handing Kakashi a scroll from Tsunade.

Kakashi unhooked the clasp and read the contents of the scroll. He was to return to Konoha immediately and Yamato would replace him in training Naruto.

The original Naruto came running towards the pair and smiled at Yamato. "Captain Yamato! It's good to see you're back!"

"It's good to see you too Naruto. Listen, Kakashi has to go back to Konoha to meet with Hokage-sama. So I'll take over your training for now."

"Naruto, do your best." said Kakashi. Naruto nodded in reply. Kakashi waved a last farewell at the two shinobi and headed back for Konoha.

"Hey, Yamato-sensei, did you bring anything with you to eat?" asked an eager Naruto.

"Ummmm, no, but I'll go inside the house and prepare some. What would you like?" asked Yamato

"Ramen!!" shouted Naruto and the hundred other clones.

Yamato sweat-dropped at this and walked into the house while mumbling "Sheesh! You and your antics…"

When Naruto saw that Yamato was already busy in the house, he quickly body flickered over to the other side of the lake and summoned another hundred clones. "Okay guys..." said the original Naruto "were gonna work on the two new jutsus Kyuubi taught us yesterday. One is _Renku dan_, and the other is…..I don't know what it's called but here is how it's supposed to work…."

* * *

**Back at Konoha **

It had taken Kakashi a few hours to get back to Konoha from the training area. Upon seeing the outer walls of the Hidden Leaf, he jumped down towards the main entrance and quickly made his way to Hokage Tower.

Just about when Kakashi was meeting with Tsunade, Ino had done the mind-switching technique with a hawk to search the area for any Akatsuki members. In the hawk's body, she flew further north, having already scanned the western area thoroughly. "_If what Asuma and Shikamaru assume is true, then this Hidan guy will have had only a couple of hours head start from us, so he shouldn't have left fire country yet"_ thought Ino, shifting now to the North east. She saw two figures slowly making their way towards Wave Country. The two figures were wearing a long black robe with red clouds on them. "_Gotcha!!" _and quickly released the jutsu. She was disoriented at first and slowly opened her eyes to see Shikamaru and Chouji squatting by her side, while Asuma smoked a cigarette a few feet away.

"I've found them. They're about a days travel away in the North East area heading for Wave Country." said Ino.

Shikamaru looked at Asuma, waiting for orders. Asuma crushed his cigarette and said "I'll go find Kakashi, and we'll move out."

"I'm here" said Kakashi. Asuma nodded to the copy ninja in greeting then said "Did you meet with Hokage-sama already?"

"Yeah. She filled me in on the situation. Do we know where they are?"

"Yes. They're a day's travel away from us, but we could easily catch up before they leave the borders of Fire Country."

"Okay. Asuma, I'll leave leadership to you. What do you want me to do?"

Asuma looked at Shikamaru and asked "Formulate a plan yet?"

"Yeah. I'll brief you all in along the way of what I had in mind." replied Shikamaru.

"Good. Then let's go."

* * *

**Back at Yondaime's house **

Naruto and Yamato were having miso ramen for lunch. "_Good thing I made a lot! Where does Naruto put it all?"_ thought Yamato. Naruto had already consumed 3 bowls of ramen and didn't show signs of stopping anytime soon.

Unbeknownst to Yamato, Naruto still had a hundred clones training at the other side of the lake. Naruto had progressed further with the new jutsu, thanks to Kakashi's unique training method. The new jutsu was probably almost fifty percent complete, but he still had trouble maintaining it. After Naruto had eaten all that Yamato had cooked, he helped with the dishes and both shinobi went to the secret room in the house to explore some more and rest up a bit before continuing with the afternoon's training.

Yamato was amazed to find such a fountain of knowledge in the hidden room and thanked Naruto for showing it to him. Naruto already trusted the former ANBU captain, but didn't show him the Summoning contract for the monkeys, nor the Flying Thunder God scroll. He kept his promise to his father. He'd also hidden the _jutsu-shiki_(trigger markers) so no one else could see them. Yamato was discussing with Naruto about a wind-natured technique called _Atsugai_ when they heard someone outside the house calling out their names.

Quickly closing the secret room with the bookcase, Yamato and Naruto looked out the window and saw Sakura and Sai randomly walking around and shouting their names.

"Hey Saku…." Naruto was about to call out to Sakura when Yamato quickly put his hand on Naruto's mouth.

"No Naruto. She can't see the house because of Yondaime's powerful genjutsu. We must keep Yondaime's house a secret."

"But…but, that's Sakura-chan!!" whined Naruto.

Yamato shrugged and said "Yondaime's orders. I wasn't even supposed to know about this place, but I'm one of your guardians so I was told where it was."

"Cool….a guardian. Hey sensei, does that mean I get to order you around?"

Yamato smirked at Naruto and lightly hit the back of his head and said "Hell no. C'mon, let's exit at the back so they'll think we were just behind the 'big rock'."

Naruto quickly followed Yamato and once they were outside, called out to Sakura.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Sai! How are you guys?"

Sakura waved and smiled at Naruto. Sai also smiled…but still in a way that makes you wonder if he was faking it or not.

"_Jeez, that guy still creeps me out a little_" thought Naruto.

"Hello Sai. Hi Sakura. What brings you two out here?" asked Yamato.

"Tsunade-shishou wanted Team 7 to back up Team Asuma against any Akatsuki members they encounter" replied Sakura.

"Okay. Do you know Team Asuma's current location?"

"Yep." Replied Sakura while taking out a map from her pouch. "Kakashi-sensei gave it to me before they moved out."

"_I love the way she said 'Yep'. So cute"_ thought Naruto.

Sakura placed the map on the floor and crouched down. The three other males followed suit. "Kakashi-sensei said the Akatsuki members are headed for Wave country. Last known position was here" while she pointed to a spot on the map. "Kakashi-sensei said they'd leave signs for us from this last known position so we can catch up."

"Good. Naruto, do you have everything you need?" asked Yamato.

Naruto nodded in reply.

"Team Kakashi, let's move out!" stated Yamato.

Team 7 was jumping from tree branch to tree branch with Yamato in the lead, followed by Naruto. Behind the jinchuuriki was Sakura, and last to follow was Sai.

They'd developed this formation after the Orochimaru/Sasuke incident. Yamato was a good close-mid range fighter. Naruto was a close-range fighter, backup to Yamato and secondary defense of the only medical ninja in the team. Next was Sakura, also a good close-range fighter and medic nin for the group.

She would partner up with Sai, the long-range fighter if ever the team had more than one opponent. And Sai in the rear to protect the pink-haired kunoichi from behind.

Tsunade was slowly implementing back the one medical nin per team standard to lessen casualty rates. Many shinobi deaths were cause by delayed medical attention which she didn't want happening during and after her term as Hokage.

Naruto looked behind him to Sakura. Sapphire eyes met emerald ones. Naruto quickly looked in front of him again and blushed. Sakura smiled at this. Naruto, still ever the shy one. "_Of course, if he says anything wrong I'll beat him to a pulp"_ thought Sakura.

"S…so, Sakura-chan. How are things with Granny Tsunade?" asked Naruto.

Sakura giggled at hearing the mighty Godiame being called a granny and replied "Well, she's really kept me busy the past few days. Many medic nin were assigned to the other teams searching for Akatsuki, so the hospital was a bit short staffed, but patient count isn't high right now. She had me do a lot of paper work too."

"Hehe…knock knock"

"Who's there?"

"Hee hee, scissors"

Sakura rolled her eyes, already knowing a corny joke was coming. "Scissors who?"

"Scissors cut up all your paper work….will you go out on a date with me after the mission?"

"Baka! That doesn't make sense! If you cut up my paperwork, then I'd beat you up and have to redo that work all over again!"

Naruto frowned in concentration, thinking about Sakura's argument.

"Naruto," called Sai from the rear "I've got this book on how to tell jokes. I could lend it to you if you want."

"Oh, shut up!" replied Naruto.

Yamato had a difficult time suppressing his laughter but managed to do so.

An hour or so later, he stopped and held up a fist, signaling to the others that they were coming to a stop. The other three landed on the same tree branch as Yamato and remained quiet.

From a distance, they could see Kakashi, Ino and Chouji. They were battling a guy whose body looked like that of a rag doll with seams connecting the body parts. It was already discussed and agreed before to never jump right into a battle. Always taking a moment to study your surroundings and knowing the situation.

Even Naruto was silent, eyes steady and focused on the enemy, studying the enemy's fighting style. Sakura was looking at Kakashi, Ino and Chouji, already assessing who needed medical aid the most while doing a quick diagnosis on each one.

Sai was looking at the terrain, looking for possible hiding areas to command his army of sketched warriors from a safe but close distance. He was also looking for other hiding enemy shinobi that could act as backup to the one visible enemy.

Yamato had trained the team well during his time with them.

Kakuzu had closed in on Kakashi, Ino and Chouji, taking advantage of their fatigue to wrap those black tentacles of his and making ready to finish them off.

Yamato immediately looked at Naruto and said "Time to do that combo."

Naruto only nodded in reply, already knowing what to do.

Yamato addressed Sai and Sakura "act as backup."

Sakura and Sai nodded. Yamato started to collect chakra onto his left hand, while Naruto quickly called a Kage bunshin to form the new rasengan on his right hand. Once the jutsus were ready, Yamato gave the go signal and he and Naruto attacked.

Kakashi knew the opponent was too quick and experienced. He didn't have any chakra left to even do a kawarimi. He looked on as the two masked creatures attached to his body prepared a fire element and wind element based attack to finish the three of them off.

"_We're trapped_" thought Ino.

"Shit!!" muttered Chouji.

"DIE!!" shouted Kakuzu.

"Suiton: Hahoryuu!"

"Fuuton: Rasengan!"

"**KUFUU SUIKA NO JUTSU**!!"(Drowning Maelstrom Technique!!)

A large explosion could be heard and nothing could be seen because of the large dust cloud the jutsu had caused.

"_What happened? Am I dead and now approaching the after life?"_ thought Kakashi.

When the dust had cleared, Kakuzu was pushed back by a few meters and 4 new shadows appeared before him.

Ino spotted Sakura, Sai, Naruto and a jounin before her. "_Reinforcements!!_"

"We're saved!!" exclaimed Chouji.

Kakashi let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the familiar faces. "Nice timing."

Naruto stared at Kakuzu. The black tentacles oozing out of his back, arms and mouth like it had a life of its own. Naruto looked at Chouji and asked "Where's Shikamaru and Asuma?"

"They're off fighting this guy's partner." replied Chouji.

"Two of you back him up. A medical ninja and long-range type would be the best" stated Kakashi while quickly doing some summoning hand seals. He touched his hand to the ground and moments later, Pakkun, the best scent-tracking dog albeit small of Kakashi's summon appeared.

"Please follow me" said Pakkun

"Sai, Sakura, follow Pakkun and back Asuma and Shikamaru up!" ordered Yamato.

"_Yosh!_" replied Sakura and Sai.

Before departing, Sakura looks at Naruto and said "I'm counting on you for this end…please be careful." And with that, she and Sai followed Pakkun.

"I've never seen you look so uncool." observed Yamato of Kakashi, "He must be a strong opponent."

"Hehe, another comedian. Doesn't matter. You are just another set of hearts for me to rip out!" declared Kakuzu.

"Sempai, please fill me in on the situation and his abilities" said Yamato.

"We're up against 2 members of Akatsuki. Shikamaru and Asuma are off fighting the other one. The other is right in front of you. His main ability is splitting off parts of his body. The masked creatures on his back are normally connected but can be detached at his command. He started this battle with five hearts…we've managed to take out 2 so far" stated Kakashi.

"Excuse me?" pardoned Yamato.

"Basically, we've killed him twice already and we have to kill him 3 more times to finish the job. He's a mid-range fighter and can use high-level jutsus of every element. He takes out the hearts of enemy shinobi and uses them as his own" replied Kakashi.

"_No wonder Kakashi had a hard time dealing with him…_" thought Yamato, and then he called out "Naruto!"

"I heard him!!" said Naruto. The blonde quickly formed a hand seal and summoned 2 Kage bunshins which immediately ran towards Kakuzu.

"Naruto! Wait!" shouted Chouji.

"You can't take him head on!" insisted Ino.

The 2 clones ignored his friend's statements and reached in their pouches for kunai. One clone jumped clear over Kakuzu while the other aimed for a stab to the heart. Before the kunai made contact, tentacles reach out and choked the clone in the front. As the first clone disappeared, Kakuzu leapt in the air in a summersault and had tentacles from his mouth dispose of the other clone.

"Are shadow clones all you have?! It'll take more than that to kill me!" shouted Kakuzu in a defiant voice.

Meanwhile, Naruto had his hand to his lips in that familiar thinking mode as the knowledge accumulated from the 2 clones came to him.

"_He used the clones to acquire battle data on his opponent. It was like a simulation for him._" thought Kakashi. "_Naruto, you've really improved in making use of your bunshins._"

Naruto redid the hand seal and now summoned 3 more clones. The 2 clones began forming the new jutsu on the original's palm while the third clone looked at Kakuzu, watching him for any sort of attack.

"_What is this chakra?…so powerful_" thought Chouji.

"_What is that?…and that noise?!_" thought Ino.

Yamato merely smiled as Kakashi looked on with a shocked face.

Finally, the new rasengan was formed. It was a much larger version of what he was practicing before with.

"Did…did he complete it?" asked Kakashi.

"No. It is only fifty percent done." answered Yamato.

"_What…what is that jutsu?...I can't be hit with that thing!_" thought Kakuzu nervously. When he looked at Naruto's eyes, he cringed in fear. The once blue eyes were now colored in blood red, with a black slit in the middle. "_So…this is the jinchuuriki that Deidara was talking about…Naruto_"

Kakuzu immediately began charging up his chakra. Because of this, his tentacles now grew in length, giving him more height and a much longer range of attack.

"This is it!" shouted a Naruto clone, and the 3 kage bunshins ran forward for the attack. 2 clones went to attack Kakuzu's rear left and rear right side while the remaining clone, Yoshimoto blade unsheathed, jumped to attack from above.

"I'll back him up!" declared Chouji. But a restraining hand stopped him from going any further.

"No, don't get involved. You might get caught up in it." stated Yamato.

Kakuzu took out the clone from above first with the tentacles from his hand crushing the neck, then he had the 2 masks on his left and right shoulder blast the other 2 clones. While he was distracted, the original Naruto was now very near. He was only 2 feet away when the tentacles from Kakuzu's mouth shot out to grab him. "Give me your heart!!" shouted a triumphant Kakuzu.

"The number 1 surprising ninja does it again! Yamato!!" called out Kakashi while preparing to do some hand seals for his _Raikiri_.

Yamato understood immediately. He stretched out his left hand to shoot out large, sharp-edged, beams of wood to distract Kakuzu while Kakashi goes in to save Naruto.

Naruto in the meantime actually smiled at Kakuzu. The Akatsuki member frowned as to why this was but started making his tentacles reach in for Naruto's beating heart when suddenly, Naruto vanished from his grip… "_Where did he go?!_"

Kakashi stopped finishing the hand seal procedure only to look at the battle wide eyed. "_When did he learn Shunshin no jutsu?!_"

Yamato was in the same train of thought.

"**FUUTON: RASEN SHURIKEN!!**" (Wind element: Spiral Shuriken)

Naruto had flickered behind Kakuzu and hit him point blank.

The ethereal blades sliced into the back of Kakuzu with such ferocity that it blasted him forwards like a bullet, making Kakashi, Yamato, Chouji and Ino dive out of the way for cover. When the blades had hit him innumerable times, 'dulling' them, the rasengan axis was still there to do some more damage. The spinning compressed chakra digging and eating away into Kakuzu's body finally exploded in a huge sphere that left a huge crate half a mile wide. Because of the sheer intensity of it, Kakuzu was catapulted air borne and now he began to fall.

"I…finally…did it" said Naruto after which he fell to the ground unconscious with fatigue ever since training for the past 2 days.

Needless to say, Kakuzu is now dead.

* * *

**Meanwhile, with Sai and Sakura **

"Here we are" said Pakkun.

"You guys are the backup?" asked Shikamaru. "You're a few minutes late."

"We are? We came here all for nothing…" replied Sakura.

"Asuma-sensei needs medical attention. Hidan seriously wounded his leg, he can barely stand."

"Lead the way." said Sakura.

Asuma was unconscious and lying beside a huge rock pile. The cut on his leg was quite critical since Hidan had managed to cut an artery. Shikamaru was able to apply first aid, but wasn't successful in stopping the bleed. Luckily, Sakura was there. Her hands glowed green as she used chakra healing to clean and close the wound.

"So, where is 'he'?" asked Sai.

"In there." replied Shikamaru pointing on the rubble. "It's hard to believe, but he really can't be killed. So Asuma-sensei and I cut him to pieces and buried him in there."

"Is there any chance of him escaping?"

"No. The thing about this forest is that my family is in charge of it. We're the only ones allowed here. No one else ever comes, and my clan will keep him trapped here forever." said Shikamaru.

During the battle, Asuma dropped his pack of cigarettes. Shikamaru picked it up, took out a stick and lit up. He breathes in the smoke and lets out a heavy sigh… "_It's good to be alive…_"

* * *

**Back at Kakashi, Yamato and the rest **

During the final moments of the Rasen shuriken, when everyone else was distracted; A figure, half white, half black, emerged from the ground near where Naruto lay. He grabs the boy's body, makes a final look at the thrashing body of Kakuzu and slides back down into the earth, with the boy in tow.

There wasn't a trace that Zetsu was even there.

* * *

Whew! That's finally done. Anyway, I've been reading about 'beta-readers' and am curious as to what their role is. Can someone enlighten me?

Next chapter's title: **Akatsuki's Lair**


	5. Akatsuki's Lair

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, but it doesn't hurt to dream, right?

"hello"- speech, common jutsus

"_hello_"- thoughts, other Japanese words (hope they're right though)

"**hello**"- Kyuubi talking, or some other kick ass jutsu

Thanks goes to all my reviewers, and thanks for all the answers to my question of beta-readers…anyone interested? MSWord spell check can only do so much. So if you are interested, please send me a private message.

**rasengan86** – I was choosing whether to have Jiraiya or Kakashi do it, but I thought it weird for Jiraiya to suddenly drop in on them while they were training and besides, he's out there doing his "research".

**Fic Slayer **– I took your advise to heart and changed the summary.

**ExtremeDiva4** – Naruto'll wish he was dead for the next few chapters.

* * *

**Naruto: Chapter 5 – Akatsuki's Lair**

His eyes opened. He heard water dripping…the place was dark, dank and filthy, but still familiar. He slowly made his way along the corridors. HE wanted to meet with him. That was the only reason for his being here. Making a final turn, he comes upon a vast opening. And far beyond, a large metal gate stood. Majestic. Overwhelming. Intricate. Fearsome.

The only thing keeping the gate from opening was a meager piece of paper with a seal written on it. And then….HE appears. Eyes red as blood, filled with malice, mischief and mayhem. Large gleaming orbs unrelenting as the moon in the pitch black of night.

"**Are you now so reluctant to see me? The only friend you had ever since you're beginning?**"

"You're no friend of mine. You've caused nothing but pain for me. Why have you summoned me here, Kyuubi no Kitsune?"

"**Fool! Have I not given you power? Have I not healed you? Saved your life countless times? You would do well to bow down before me in gratitude.**" The beast's evil chakra would glow intermittently from its body as each angry word was spoken.

"If death is the price to release me of all this pain, all the hurt, then I would humbly accept it. Better to have felt a day's worth of sheer happiness than endure a life long of suffering!"

The beast chuckles. "**Death…that I could easily give you, but in no degree will I allow my existence be erased by the utter whims of a weak juvenile like you.**"

He thought that this conversation was pointless, so he began to walk away.

"**They have you now. And in having you, they also have me.**"

Not bothering to turn around, he asks "Who is they?"

"**Akatsuki.**"

He quickly turns around in surprise. "That's impossible! How? When?!"

The eyes with long black slits for irises blinked deliberately. "**You'll see soon enough.**" And with that, the great beast turned about, and moved further into his prison, leaving an anxious Naruto to himself.

* * *

**Clan Nara's Forest**

Sakura had finally finished patching up Asuma's wound. Thinking now of Naruto and the others, she faced Shikamaru and said "That should do until we get Asuma-sensei back to Konoha. I've got to go back to Kakashi and the others."

Shikamaru nods in assent as he gestures to Sai, "Help me carry him." They put an arm over each of their shoulders, lacing one arm behind Asuma's back and moving their free arm to support Asuma's thigh in a fireman's carry and slowly made their way back to the Hidden Village of Leaf.

Seeing that the 2 guys were now in rhythm for the carry, Sakura headed back to the first battleground. The first thing she noticed upon her arrival was the huge crater with the dead body right smack in the center. "_That large concave at his back must be the cause of death…broken, no, severed spinal column…wait. What am I doing?!_" She scolded herself for even hesitating to aid her comrades. She looked around and spotted Ino, healing an unconscious Kakashi while Chouji supported him from behind. Yamato, nor Naruto could not be seen.

She quickly walked towards Ino and asked "Where's Naruto and Captain Yamato?"

Ino looks at Sakura with worried eyes. Then it hits Sakura. Something was wrong.

She grabs Ino by the shoulders and forcibly shakes her fellow medic nin as if doing so would make Naruto suddenly appear and stop her. "Where is he?! Where has he gone to?!" She could not, will not accept the notion of Naruto dying. A single tear broke free from Ino's eye, and with it fell all of Sakura's hope.

"We….we cannot find him. Captain Yamato is still out searching for him…he….he just disappeared." replied a tearful Ino.

Sakura looked at Chouji, wanting him to tell her Ino was mistaken. But the words never came. She steeled her resolve, and hope rekindled within her. "Where was Captain Yamato headed?"

Chouji looked at her and said "Further north east. Pakkun is with him. They left about…"

Sakura didn't wait for him to finish. She jumped away, leaving the three other shinobi behind. "_Naruto…don't leave me._"

Yamato had been following Pakkun for some time now, but only going around in circles, wider each time as they returned to the starting point of each circle, each moment adding to his anxiety. Night was fast approaching. It was now four hours since the battle. He cursed himself for focusing his interest on the incredible effects of Naruto's jutsu, gaping at Kakuzu's breaking body like a stupid child.

Pakkun suddenly stops before him and said "I'm sorry Yamato. I cannot find one trace of Naruto's scent anywhere else but at the battlegrounds."

Yamato nodded dumbly. Hearing the words, but resisting it. Not wanting it. He sensed a presence fast approaching, but he didn't care. It didn't matter. His senses dulled as he stared off into the distance.

Sakura nimbly landed beside him. Worry clearly showing in those emerald green eyes. "Any signs?" she asked hopefully.

"No….not a single one."

That was when Sakura broke. Falling down on her knees. Uninhibited tears streaming down her cheeks as she unleashed her despair. Nothing mattered. Nothing mattered anymore.

Yamato kneeled down, hugging the crying kunoichi. "We will find him…I promise…we will find him." said Yamato…but finding it difficult to believe in his words himself.

He stood up, gathered the pink haired kunoichi in his arms, carrying her back to Kakashi and the others before finally heading for Konoha.

* * *

**Somewhere. In a dark and sinister cavern**

His head hurt and throbbed, threatening to burst apart. His body ached a thousand places over. He was lying down on a bed made of straws. It was with great effort to open his eyes, and in this stupor he looked around, trying to discern his surroundings. His eyes fell open black robes…with red clouds on it. He looked up to gaze at the face, and into the eyes. Red, with black swirl drops. Sharingan eyes.

"_He is here! He's here right before me! Come back! Come back to the light!!_"

Naruto lifts his hand, reaching out for him…desperately wanting to save him. "Sasu…ke"

Then darkness surrounds him again. The hand drops down, stripped of strength.

Itachi looks on. Unmoved by the gesture. He turns about and locks the door behind him.

They would be waiting.

He walked along the pathway, torches lighting his every step. Stalactites hanging ominously far above him…threatening to reach down and skewer him, but they did not. The upside-down spires held firm.

He reached his destination. The meeting was to be held in one of the many make-shift rooms that this huge cavern possessed. Inside were the rest of the members of the organization called Akatsuki.

He, Kisame, Deidara, Zetsu, Tobi, Mariko, and the Leader were all that was left of the original 10. Itachi seated himself on the nearest empty chair, and waited.

The tension in the room was apparent. After all this time of being together, each member still felt the need to gauge and study the shinobi beside them. Noting for traces of fear, anger, joy, anxiety, adoration, grief, or hate. Any sign of the seven emotions is a sign of weakness, and in the way of the _nindo,_ this was simply unacceptable. Especially amongst such powerful company, except of course Tobi. That fool of a shinobi. Because of his silly clowning, he of all the members had the least amount of_face_ or _respect_.

"So we finally have the nine tails, yeah." pointed out Deidara, finally breaking the silence.

Tobi started counting off his fingers "That leaves only 3 more _bijuus_ to go right? Let's see we got the 1 tail from that sand kid, too bad Master Sasori got beaten. Master Kakuzu and Master Hidan got the 2 tails from that chick, too bad they got wasted trying to get this kid. In the end, it was thanks to Master Zetsu. Deidara and ME got the 3 tails, that was totally cool by the way…"

Deidara noticed the missing title of respect and coldly glared at Tobi.

"Silence Tobi. We all know the score" said the Akatsuki Leader not unkindly. "How is the boy?"

"He was starting to awaken, but drifted off to unconsciousness again." replied Itachi.

The Akatsuki Leader nods once then addresses all that were present. "We are currently VERY short on members. With only the seven of us left, it would be imprudent and disastrous to extract the bijuu's essence from the _nibi_,_sanbi_ and especially the _kyuubi_."

"Huh? How come?" asks an eager Tobi.

"In order to perform the _Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin_ (Complete Nine Mystical Dragon seal), we would need to summon _the_ statue. The summoning itself is quite taxing. After which we then extract the essence of the _bijuu_." said the white side of Zetsu. "As for the extraction, we will need to match the exact amount of chakra the _bijuu_ possesses. With our present number of members, we only reach up to approximately eighty percent of the chakra amount of the _nibi_after summoning the statue." continued the black side of Zetsu.

"Well said Zetsu," complimented the red-haired leader. "Kakuzu and Sasori's downfall was a great setback for us. If they were still present, we'd have had no problems in extracting the _nibi_ and the _sanbi_._Shigata ga nai_,_neh_…I guess we'll have to find replacements."

"Kisame, Itachi…you will resume the tasks of Kakuzu and Hidan, bounty hunting for funds. Target the less popular profiles from the Bingo book, preferably criminals so investigations on their deaths will only be half-hearted. I want for us to remain low key for now. Two strong hidden villages cooperatively attacking us is the last thing we need. Deidara, Tobi…you're task for now is to locate and if possible, capture the _hachibi_. If capture is not an option, call the rest of us for aid."

Turning to the blue-haired woman beside him, the Akatsuki Leader said, "Mariko-san, you're now assigned to the task of managing finances."

"Do you want me to start looking for possible recruits?" asked black Zetsu of the Akatsuki leader.

"Yes. That would be a good idea. I already have 2 in mind, but it is always best to have spares" smiled the Akatsuki leader mischievously.

"Questions?"

There were none, so the meeting was dismissed. Kisame was muttering something about finally being able to kill as he and the members began to exit the room, the Akatsuki leader addressed Mariko and said, "Mariko-san, look in on the boy…we might have use for him very soon."

Mariko's deep blue eyes looked steadily into quiet, orange eyes and replied, "Yes, Master Kazama."

* * *

**Konoha. Godaime Hokage's Office**

Kakashi and Asuma were immediately brought to Konoha hospital so treatment of their injuries could be attended to immediately. Yamato went ahead to Hokage tower to give the battle report. Upon entering the office, Yamato was greeted with a cheerful Tsunade.

"I heard that the 2 Akatsuki members were defeated. Good work, Yamato!" said Tsunade. "That'll show Akatsuki we are not to be trifled with!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama, the 2 Akatsuki members were defeated, but after the battle, we could not find Naruto anywhere." said the former ANBU captain with a straight face.

Tsunade's smiling face darkened into anger. The soft eyes became hard, the air in the room becoming instantly heavy, humid, and difficult to breath.

"Tell me everything. Ever since you left here to train Naruto up to the time the battle was finished."

Yamato proceeded to report to her verbatim. Leaving nothing unsaid, even including the boy's antics, the ramen for lunch, the visit to the secret room, the arrival of Sakura and Sai, the jokes Naruto shared along the way to the battle, the death of Kakuzu, the search of him and Pakkun, till the return to Konoha with the injured Kakashi and Asuma. It had taken him a good 45 minutes to finish his verbal report. All the while, Tsunade was silent. The perfect listener.

When Yamato had completed his report, Tsunade looked down, closed her eyes and sifted through all the words that she had heard.

"_Naruto…did you leave? There is no reason for you to leave. There are people here that care for you. Jiraiya, Sakura, Kakashi, Yamato, Iruka, the rest of the Rookie 9, and me…too few._"

"No." Tsunade didn't realize she had spoken the last word aloud. "Few, indeed…but are there. Will always be there for him."

Gathering strength from this knowledge, she looks up at Yamato and said, "Call the members of Team Asuma and Team Kakashi here. I want to listen to their reports." Then facing Shizune, she said, "Send word to the rest of the 20th legion to return immediately and assemble at the roof deck of Hokage Tower for a massive search and rescue operation. Assign 10 members of the ANBU to look for Jiraiya. Now go!"

* * *

**Akatsuki Lair. A few hours later.**

The pain in his body had subsided, and the headache was totally gone. Naruto was now conscious, but still kept his eyes closed. He sensed another presence in the room, and not wanting to alert the other of his condition, he remained still, not even tensing his body. The other person was very close to him. He was naked from the waist up. His body covered with perspiration. The other person's face, a few inches from his abdomen, the breathing, calm and intermittent, cooled his skin, raising goose bumps where ever breathe touched.

"_Probably looking at the Shiki Fuujin seal on my tummy,_" thought Naruto.

Suddenly, he felt two soft but deft fingers on his neck, searching for his pulse.

"Open your eyes. I know you are conscious. Your heart beat rate jumped up just now. Were you thinking of attacking me?" said a feminine voice.

Naruto opened his eyes, already knowing the other was expecting an attack. His advantage of surprise now gone. An attractive woman with blue hair, deep blue eyes, and in Akatsuki robes stood before him. He remained quiet, giving the woman a piercing stare, willing her to speak first. But the woman didn't say a word, and after a few seconds had passed, she smirked, turned around, and headed for the door.

Zetsu and the Akatsuki Leader were right outside the room, waiting for Mariko's assessment of the boy's condition.

"Are you certain this is how you want to proceed?" asked the white side of Zetsu.

"We'll see. As of the moment, we have both of them in captive. All it will take is to find a reason for them to fight for us, and besides, you are still going to search for other possible members."

"Yes, but we have always picked S-class missing nin. The girl I can accept, but the boy…" the black side of Zetsu left the sentence hanging, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.

"What is his current ninja rank?"

"Genin"

"A genin yet able to defeat Kakuzu…interesting, don't you think?"

"It could have been a coincidence…"

"Perhaps …but he is young…and malleable…"

"How do you plan on making them join us?"

The Akatsuki Leader smiled emotionlessly. "By giving them a reason they can't refuse…"

The door behind them suddenly opened. "My lord, the boy is awake," said Mariko while stepping outside the room.

The Leader looked at Mariko for a moment, faced Zetsu again and nodded in dismissal, then he turned about and entered the room, closing the door, leaving him and Naruto alone in the room.

Naruto studied the Akatsuki robed man in front of him. He was tall, with crazy orange eyes and reddish-orange hair. He held a quiet atmosphere, but Naruto also sensed something else. This man was strong…very strong, but he was guarding it fiercely, not wanting others to know of his true strength.

"What do you want with me?" asked the blonde shinobi, knowing that lack of caution would be a deadly mistake.

The man didn't reply, but his eyes fell on the _Shiki Fuujin_ mark on Naruto's stomach.

"_The Kyuubi…_" thought Naruto. Unable to bear the silence any longer, Naruto thought to hell with it and formed the seal for Kage Bunshin noh jutsu.

"That's pointless. I put a seal on your back. It prohibits the wearer from using chakra."

Naruto ignored the words and tried summoning a hundred clones to help him…but nothing happened. He looked at the man hatefully and reached for a kunai in his weapons pouch, but only managed to grab a handful of air, the pouch missing.

"You aren't very smart are you?"

"Shut up!!" shouted Naruto, not caring anymore. The futility of the situation angering him.

The man suddenly formed a seal and gazed intently at Naruto's eyes. Naruto noticed the orange eyes started becoming blurry and thought "_Damn it…genjutsu?!_"

Mariko had walked with Zetsu to the rear part of the cavern and now stood before a long glass tube. The tube was ten feet tall and was five feet in diameter. Inside, a naked, light-brown haired kunoichi floated unconsciously in an eerie light green liquid.

She was the jinchuuriki of the 2 tailed demon, _Nekomata_. Mariko accessed a nearby control panel and punched some controls.

Suddenly, the light green liquid began to descend, the tube's liquid content being flushed away by thick connecting tubes at the base of the make-shift prison. It had now been some time since they had captured her, but her body had not aged one bit, the preservation cell working flawlessly.

The tube was now completely drained.

Mariko punched in some more keys, and the glass wall began to slide down into the ground. Once completely gone, Zetsu walked up to the lying girl and carried her, bridal style, to a room much similar to that of Naruto's and laid her down on a similar bed of straws.

Mariko then proceeded to clothe the girl with the outfit she was wearing when she was captured, excluding her weapons pouch and village forehead protector.

She was clasping the girl's brasserie, and one could see on her back was the chakra-blocking seal that was also placed on Naruto's back. When the girl was fully clothed,

Mariko exited the room and locked the jutsu reinforced door, leaving Nii Yugito to wake up alone from her long slumber.

* * *

**Somewhere. Near the hidden village of Sound.**

Hundreds of bodies of unconscious shinobi were scattered across the large expanse, all wearing the symbol of Otogakure on their forehead protectors.

Sitting down on the backside of a large bodied ninja was Uchiha Sasuke. His Kusanagi blade was unsheathed and pierced to the ground. He had defeated all these ninjas, and yet, they weren't able to leave a mark of injury on him.

From a distance, the great snake sannin, Orochimaru, and his medical assistant ninja, Kabuto looked on. They had witnessed the victory of the sharingan wielder with mild surprise.

"How do you expect to kill Itachi if you didn't even kill one of them?" asked Orochimaru while gesturing at the fallen ninjas.

"I will show him no mercy…even if he begs on his knees," replied Sasuke coldly. "Is that it?"

The snake sannin replied with a nod. Sasuke stood up, pulled his sword from the ground and sheathed it, heading for the nearby underground base of Orochimaru.

Kabuto remained silent all this time, not trusting himself to speak.

"_I am called a genius, but I was nothing compared to him when I was his age,_" thought Orochimaru. "_It isn't long now.__Soon, you'll be mine…_" he smiled deliciously.

* * *

**Country of Fire**

Members of the 20th legion had received their instructions from Tsunade and were now scouring the entire Fire Country for Naruto while the 10 members of the ANBU were out looking for Jiraiya.

They had searched for 5 straight days without rest, but to no avail.

No traces of Naruto nor Jiraiya were ever found.

* * *

Finally! All the characters are now set.

FYI for those not knowing of the 20th legion. They are a legion of Jounins and chuunins assembled by Tsunade for the sole task of eliminating any Akatsuki member that enters the Country of Fire. The team consisting of Asuma, Shikamaru, Kotetsui, and Izumo were members of this legion. 'Till the next chapter!!


	6. New Hardships

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. But the damn manga should focus more on Naruto, dammit!

"damn it"- speech, common jutsus

"_damn it_"- thoughts, other Japanese words (hope they're right though)

"**damn it**"- Kyuubi talking, or some other whopper jutsu

I edited Chapter 5 such that instead of only 1 more _bijuu_ left to capture, I changed it to 3. The source of my research was wrong and I just found out that the Akatsuki still have 3 more _bijuus_ to capture.

* * *

**Naruto: Chapter 6 – New Hardships**

The pain his body was going through was indescribable. Every now and then, he would cough up blood. The time for the Soul Transfer Ritual was near.

"You're approaching your limit. You'll need a dose of Rank 10 medicine or your body will expire with you still in it…" explained Kabuto to the Snake Sannin.

Orochimaru grunted out in pain and let out a large wave of killer intent. "Uh…I'll just go get some" said Kabuto hesitantly. While he was walking away from Orochimaru's quarters to the medicine supply room, he heard the Snake Lord laugh crazily. The sound of it scared him to the core.

Orochimaru suddenly stopped laughing, choking in his own blood. Suddenly, he heard a crackling noise, and when he looked up, a thin, ethereal blade was rushing towards him.

He quickly blocked with both his hands, the contact with it numbing his arms. "_The chakra…is his. But he never used this kind of shape manipulation before…_" thought Orochimaru.

Suddenly, the wall where the chakra blade was coming from was sliced into a thousand pieces, and the attacker was now revealed. His kusanagi sword unsheathed. There stood Uchiha Sasuke.

"I knew this day would come", said Orochimaru.

"I have nothing more to learn from you," replied Sasuke. "I won't show you any mercy either. Even if you beg down on your knees for it."

Sasuke moved the chakra blade slightly to the right, with the blade still piercing both Orochimaru's arms so his mid section was now exposed.

"Orochimaru, you are weaker than me. There is no point in sacrificing my body to you anymore."

"Big words from the leftover Uchiha…"

"Hmph…if I hadn't been so weak, I never would've sought you out, would I? You only wanted me because you couldn't handle Itachi, right? Mister Great Sannin Genius? Perhaps the world at large would consider you gifted, but you are nowhere near the level of an Uchiha. Compared to us, a person like you is as average as anyone else.

Looking down on you as one who carries that name, your pitiful attempts to acquire the power that we possess is simply laughable. Drug experimentation and transferring from one body to another?

Your methods are pointless.

Do you even have a goal anymore? You claim to be seeking the reason behind existence, yet all you do is make petty excuses to play god with other people's lives. You sicken me. "

Sasuke thrust the lightning blade deeper so that Orochimaru's arms were pinned on the wall behind him. He drew back his sword arm and aimed to strike his heart.

With his arms being useless, Orochimaru had only one thought in his mind…escape. He opened his mouth as wide as he could so his true body could escape and fend off the Uchiha.

His true self was crammed into that small, tight body. Now, finally free, he could stretch out to his true size. A giant white serpent, with countless millions of snake heads forming as his scales, all there for him to command.

"So, this is your true body…a scaly white serpent," observed Sasuke.

He activated his curse seal and soon, his entire left side was now covered with the seal's black markings. "You wanted to take over other people's bodies so badly, you experimented on your own…now you're a pathetic form of your former self" concluded Sasuke.

"Come now Sasuke-kun", cajoled the huge white serpent, "GIVE ME YOUR BODY!!!" and with that, the great white serpent charged towards the sharingan wielder with blinding speed.

Kabuto had finally found the bottle for the rank 10 medicine. "_The medicine's not enough anymore. At best, he'll make it to tomorrow, but more than likely he'll need to do the Soul Transfer Ritual today…still, I never would've guessed Sasuke-kun would be quick to allow it_", he thought to himself.

With the bottle in hand, he walked back to Orochimaru's quarters. "_It doesn't matter. Even Sasuke-kun won't be able to survive the ritual_", he mused. As he was nearing the door to the Snake Lord's room, that was the moment he noticed a large amount of blood splatter.

He quietly but quickly crouched down, pulled out a kunai and edged towards the opening.

What he saw shocked him.

Lying down on a large pool of blood was the large body of the great white serpent. He had already seen it before. What shocked him were the lifeless eyes of the great serpent. And in the middle of all this stood Sasuke.

"_What the hell happened?!? Is the ritual over already?!?_" he asked himself.

Sensing no danger, he straightened himself up and slowly walked into the room, while keeping a weary eye on Sasuke. The sharingan calmly looked at the medical ninja, and then proceeded to walk out of the room.

"Wait…"

Sasuke stopped and waited for Kabuto.

"Which one are you?"

"Which do you think?" replied Sasuke. Then his eyes showed the sharingan.

"Orochimaru-sama…is….dead…" said Kabuto haltingly.

Sasuke nodded and said "I've taken over." He turned around and made his way to the experiments room.

He arrived onto a large room. Inside it were many long glass tubes much similar to Yugito's preservation cell, but he was only interested in one.

As he neared this particular tube, a voice called out "I thought that was you…so you actually defeated Orochimaru then…"

"Yeah," replied Sasuke "Forget that though. Let's get you out of there."

Sasuke drew out the kusanagi blade, and with a swing, had broken the strong glass. Water rushed out of the opening, and strangely, no body could be seen when the glass tube was in tact.

When the water had completely exited the tube, forming a small pool of water near Sasuke's feet, a hand shot out, followed by a head and then the other hand. It looked like the prisoner was 'crawling' out of the water.

"Finally…thanks Sasuke"

"Come with me…we'll take care of you first Suigetsu."

"Hmmm…I'm first so…who are the rest then?"

"Two more to go. I'm taking Karin from the south base, and Juugo from the North base."

"Oh dear…I don't really like those two at all. I really don't believe I can get along with them", smiled Suigetsu. He had marshmallow green hair with matching eyes, but his teeth were sharp and serrated. When he finally 'crawled' out of the pool of water, he was as naked as the day he was born.

"No need to get along especially well. Just work with them."

"I suppose…after all, you did save me."

Sasuke nodded to that fact, and then replied "Put on some clothes and let's go."

"Hahaha! You really do talk like you're in charge."

"Stop your blathering and move it."

In a blink of an eye, Suigetsu was behind Sasuke. His index finger pointed to the Uchiha's temple with the thumbed cocked back like a pistol.

"Let's make our relationship clear, hmmm? Just because you defeated Orochimaru doesn't put you in charge here. Everyone was after him. Sooner or later, someone would've taken him out. Orochimaru liked you, so you simply had more chances to kill him than the rest of us."

"Your point?" Sasuke asked calmly.

"That I have the advantage…."

"…"

"Hahaha! Just Kidding. Your heart didn't even skip a beat. It really wasn't a fluke that you beat him..that's reassuring", said Suigetsu, moving the cocked hand away from Sasuke.

Sasuke only looked at him, still waiting for his answer.

"Fine, I'll go with you. But before getting the other two, I'd like to make a little detour if you don't mind."

"Where?"

"Kirigakure no Sato…"

**Akatsuki Lair**

The strike came out of nowhere, and Naruto barely managed to duck before the blade would've connected where his neck used to be.

He quickly rolled forward and jump-flipped to stand upright, crouching low.

He still did not know where his attacker was. The walkway was poorly lit, and shadows danced eerily as fire from the torches on the wall flickered here and there.

"_I wish Shikamaru were here. Then he could just Shadow bind this guy and I can beat the crap out of him_", thought the blonde.

He scanned his eyes to the left, right, front, rear, above. He quickly hopped back as the attacker crashed down on his initial position, sword poised down for a skewer strike.

Seeing that the jinchuuriki had evaded the initial attack, the attacker quickly repositioned the sword for a horizontal arc slice. When the blade was about to connect, Naruto's hand shot out and grabbed it.

The attacker twisted his hand and pulled so the blade was free from his opponent's hand while opening the linear wound to a gaping one.

"Gaaahhhh!!!" said the jinchuuriki while clutching his bleeding left hand. "This is stupid and unfair!!!"

"Why?" replied the Akatsuki Leader.

"How am I supposed to block and counter when I don't even have a kunai?!?!? And besides, that is MY katana!!!"

"Evade. It IS a nice sword. I think I'll hang onto it for awhile."

They had been at it for a long time, everyday of every week the same, with Naruto being attacked by Kazama whenever Naruto left his room, leaving no moment of rest.

One time, while the blonde was asleep, the orange-haired man silently walked into the room and suddenly kicked the sleeping shinobi awake, then proceeded to attack him with the Yoshimoto sword.

The Akatsuki Leader had started the training for the jinchuuriki until he was worthy to be part of the organization. The jutsu reinforced door of Naruto's room was no longer kept locked, and the blonde could come and go from his room as he pleased, but there was a catch.

He was told that he would be attacked at anytime without warning and he was not provided with any weapons, and the chakra blocking seal was still in place, so jutsus were out of the picture.

Also, because of the chakra seal, Naruto's wounds didn't heal as fast as he liked them to. His body was covered with cuts and bruises while his clothes were almost in tatters.

The blond shinobi was especially thankful that Itachi and Kisame had just left for another fund-raising mission. The sharingan user and the _Samehada_ wielder were more vicious with their attacks, beating Naruto to the brink of death.

All Akatsuki members were instructed to attack Naruto on sight and to never relent unless Naruto was able to escape to another section of the large cavern or fell down unconscious.

Escape was easier said than done.

All Akatsuki members were frightfully fast, and their hits were unleashed with full force. There was even a time that Naruto had to crawl back into his room because his shin bone had cracked after trying to kick Kisame, who had blocked with the _Samehada_.

He preferred Deidara or Tobi returning to the base. Deidara didn't use taijutsu as his primary attack, so Naruto managed to block some of his attacks. Tobi on the other hand was much faster, but his punches and kicks didn't hurt as much. "_I wonder if he pulls them?_" thought the blonde.

So far, he had never encountered Zetsu nor the blue-haired woman.

There was no one to help him. No shoulder to cry on. No person to talk with. He had lost hope for rescue a long time ago.

He had also lost all track of time and missed seeing the light of day or the glow of the moon. During nighttime, when he wasn't being attacked, he learned to spend his time meditating on the floor in his room and just withdraw and reflect.

"_Kyuubi, are you there?_"

"**What do you want?**"

"_What am I doing here? And why all this beating up? Why don't they just kill me?_"

"**You are here because of me. As to why they continue to beat you, I do not know…but isn't it curious that they've only used taijutsu or kenjutsu?**"

"_Yeah…you're right. Itachi never used the Mangekyou on me. Deidara also didn't use his clay explosives on me either…what's going on? Do you know how long we've been here now?_"

"**Roughly….almost a year.**"

A year. He never knew the storm would last this long. But he kept soldiering on and kept to faith. He needed to…he really didn't have a choice.

**Konohagakure no Sato. Hyuuga Mansion.**

The sky was cloudless, and the sun shone proudly down on the Village of the Hidden Leaf. It was just another day for many to go about and continue on with their daily activities, but there was one who didn't share this view.

She looked down at the ground sadly, remembering that this was the day that Naruto disappeared. When she heard of the news, she wanted to go out and join in on the search, but her father had not allowed her.

"Hinata-sama…do you want to continue?" asked the jounin of the Hyuuga heiress.

"I…um…Neji-san…I think I need to take a break", replied Hinata.

Neji nodded in understanding and sat down alongside Hinata on the porch steps. They were currently training within the grounds of the Hyuuga mansion at the request of Hyuuga Hiashi. Neji knew all too well Hinata's feelings for Naruto, and decided that Hinata probably wanted to talk with him.

"Where ever he is…I know he will be alright."

"H-how do you know that, Neji-san?"

Neji turned his pearl-white eyes skyward, as if the answer would be shown to him from above. "His spirit is indomitable. I've never known any other person with such spirit."

Hinata nodded in agreement, then said "I…I miss him Neji-san…"

Neji looked at his cousin compassionately and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know…but you must believe in him…just as he believed in you."

"Do…do you believe in him, Neji-san?"

Neji gave Hinata one of his genuine rare smiles and said, "With all my heart…"

**Konoha Hospital**

Haruno Sakura had been wandering around Konoha for more than an hour now. That morning, her shift at Konoha hospital had already ended, but she didn't want to leave.

She busied herself just so she wouldn't feel the pain. While she was attending to an unconscious patient who had a concussion, she opened one of his eyelids to check for the pupil's reaction to light.

The patient had cerulean eyes…very similar to that of Naruto's. A single tear dropped from her emerald eyes, and she quickly ran out of the hospital as fast as she could.

Her feet led her to Team Seven's old training grounds and now she stood before the three wooden pillars. She approached the middle one, where Kakashi had tied up Naruto. She softly touched it, feeling the smooth surface of the wood.

"I thought I'd find you here."

She closed here eyes, trying to hide the tears. A shinobi was supposed to be strong. Fearless. Emotionless.

"Hello Kakashi-sensei. Back from your mission?" she asked.

"Yes…I did as you requested and detoured after my mission was completed at Kirigakure and asked around. I even visited Tazuna and Inari. I'm sorry…but no one had seen Naruto there for the past year."

"Th-thank you…but you really didn't have to do it…"

"I didn't have to….but I wanted to. He is our teammate…."

He looked at the pink haired kunoichi and searched his thoughts. "_What would Naruto say in this situation…?_"

Sakura looked one more time at the middle pillar, and slowly started to walk back into the town, Kakashi walking beside her.

"After all the time that he's gone…do you still love him?"

"Yes." replied Sakura. "With all my heart…"

Kakashi smiled at his former student and embraced her comfortingly, giving the pink-haired kunoichi a shoulder to cry on.

**Hokage Tower**

Tsunade was bored.

She had been doing nothing but paper work for the past few months. Every fifteenth day of the month for the past year, she had the entire 20th legion go out and look for fresh news from any of the neighboring countries for news of Naruto or Jiraiya.

She never realized until now that she would actually miss both the prankster and the toad hermit to distract her from her work.

The doors to her office quietly opened and in walked Shizune with more paperwork for her to do. The Godaime sighed tiredly then said "Why did I even take this job?"

"Well…because you are a sannin of the leaf and the best medical ninja there is. Here is the report from the different captains of the 20th legion…" replied Shizune.

Tsunade quickly scanned all the reports then sadly closed her eyes. Shizune quietly observed this and placed a comforting hand on her _sensei's_ shoulder.

"We've failed him Shizune…we've failed Naruto."

"No…don't give up now Tsunade-sama…we can't give up hope!"

Tsunade wiped a single tear away from her cheek. She had nothing left but hope. She had called in all favors just for a single ounce of news of Naruto's whereabouts, but it was to no avail. She silently hoped that Jiraiya was out there with him or something, although she knew Jiraiya was smarter than that…he would've made contact by now if he and Naruto were together. "_He would never put Naruto in jeopardy_", she thought. But she blindly continued to hold on to this idea, refusing to believe anything else.

"I…I would give anything to hear him call me Granny Tsunade one more time..."

Shizune looked worriedly at the Godaime. She looked down and reflected on her memories with the hyper-active ninja. She too had grown fond of him.

"Do you think he would've made…a great hokage?"

"With all my heart…" replied Tsunade, crying softly.

**Akatsuki Cavern. Kazama's Quarters**

It had gone unnoticed by the blonde shinobi, but he had become reasonably faster. With the need to defend himself against the likes of Itachi, Kisame, Kazama, and the others, his body had adapted to the situation, needing to survive.

The Akatsuki Leader was impressed with this development. He had gone into his private quarters to read field reports from the other Akatsuki members when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in", he called out while rolling up one of the many scrolls on his desk.

The Lady Mariko quietly entered and closed the door behind her. Kazama looked up and waited for her to speak. "_She really is quite beautiful_" thought the orange haired man.

The lady had blue hair with a Morning Glory flower clipping her hair to a side, and matching deep blue eyes. There was an aura of serenity about her which he liked, but there was also another side of her he was weary of and the only tell-tale sign of this was when her eyes turned midnight blue.

She had come from the Country of Snow, or rather the Country of Spring as it is now called, after what had occurred there when Naruto and the rest of Team 7 had gone there to protect Fujikaze Yukie, the country's princess.

Mariko had been an orphan, abandoned by her parents in the blistering cold. She had wandered from place to place, stealing food as she went to survive.

She soon discovered that she had a hidden talent.

She could manipulate water and ice, thus providing her a great defense against any would be attacker wanting to take advantage of her. Although she had no formal training, her mastery of water and ice was incredible. She manipulated these elements by pure instinct, having to adapt to various situations as she was growing up.

No one really knew her real name or her real age, and Zetsu had stumbled upon her by pure chance. She was one of the early members of the organization and had chosen Kazama as her partner in Akatsuki.

"How is the girl?" asked Kazama.

"She is conscious, but is very weak, physically. Her muscles have atrophied from not being used for so long"

"Will that pose as a problem for us?"

"I don't think so…just give her time and she should regain her strength. Perhaps now is the best time to persuade her to our cause…"

"You are right. I'll bring the boy with me when I reason with her. She might see life as a member isn't so bad."

"How is the boy's training coming along?"

"Superb. This kind of training is perfect for him. His will to survive is strong."

"I've never heard of this kind of training before. Is it wise to inflict so much damage on him?"

"Yes you have, my lady. In fact, you are one of the perfect results of this kind of training."

"How so?" asked Mariko, moving closer to the Akatsuki leader while listening.

"For as long as one can remember, fighting styles and techniques in taijutsu have always been classified into categories. But the human body is individually unique. When one forces oneself to learn a certain fighting style, one can never achieve their maximum potential in a short amount of time. It just isn't natural for the body, _neh_? Where as with this kind of training, his body will develop its own unique fighting style, obtaining peak efficiency."

"I see…"

"Well…I should go see the girl then", and with that, Kazama started heading for the door.

As he passed Mariko by, she grabbed his hand, not letting go. He looked at her, waiting for her.

"We still have time…" She moved closer, her body only inches from his as she gazed into his eyes. She moved her free hand to caress his cheek, each movement precise, knowing, not hesitating.

She slowly closed the gap between their lips, and sealed it with a kiss. She tasted like sweet grapes, a fruit he always loved. He closed his eyes and returned the kiss, bringing his arms around her in a passionate embrace.

**A few hours later**

Kazama needed a breath of fresh air. The cavern itself had no exits, and a unique teleportation jutsu, known only to the members, was necessary to enter or leave it. He felt rejuvenated, and seeing the country side added more to his exhilaration. "_Mariko…what will I do with you?_" he thought.

He sensed someone approaching him from behind. "_He is strong and has quite a large amount of chakra_", he analyzed. The other shinobi dropped down a few feet behind the Akatsuki Leader and reached for a kunai.

"It's been awhile…" Kazama stated while turning to face the other shinobi.

"…hasn't it…Jiraiya."

* * *

Next Chapter's title: **New Bonds**


	7. New Bonds

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

"hello"- speech, common jutsus

"_hello_"- thoughts, or other Japanese words (hope they're right though)

"**hello**"- Kyuubi talking, or some other major jutsu

I just want to bang my head to the wall whenever I find out that I made a mistake…well, actually, it was the website I was doing my research from that made the mistake. In chapter 6, I mentioned the name of the Snow Princess. This part of the fic was from Naruto Movie 1, and her correct name is actually Kazahana Koyuki. Just wanted to clear that up for those who already read this fic before I make the correction.

Since there was no Naruto this week, I hope this'll cheer you up somehow. Also starting with this chapter, I'm adding a glossary at the end of each chapter for your reference.

* * *

**Naruto: Chapter 7 – New Bonds**

The white-haired shinobi looked at the other man with weary eyes. The kunai in his hand was an assuring thing. If the other shinobi attacked, he knew it would be a very difficult battle, maybe even fatal. The other looked at the toad hermit coolly, not threatened at all by the kunai. There was no reason for him to feel threatened…no reason at all. He cocked his head slightly to a side and observed with amused eyes. "_The years have been kind to Jiraiya,_" thought the orange-haired man.

"Don't worry, I won't harm you," Kazama said.

"One never knows…" replied Jiraiya.

"True…how long has it been? Two? Three years?"

"Three and a half, now."

"Ah, I see…no wonder you're restless. Here…as a sign of good faith, I'll keep my hands in plain sight and turn my back to you, then you can do what it is you came here to do."

The Akatsuki Leader raised his arms slightly to show he held no weapons in his hands, and turned about, exposing his back to Jiraiya. The toad hermit carefully walked towards the Akatsuki Leader, senses attuned for the slightest movement.

When he was close enough, he quickly struck the kunai vertically to Kazama's head. It was only when Jiraiya removed his hand could the _fuda _attached to the kunai be seen. Slowly, the kunai was absorbed into Kazama's head.

"_It is now safe,_" Jiraiya sighed in relief.

"See?" said Kazama.

"You know I couldn't take any chances…the _fuda_ only has a known lifespan of three years."

"Then why were you late?"

"Something came up…"

"Your short sword while peeping in a bathhouse?"

"No…Orochimaru's recent death."

Kazama turned around to face the Sannin member, eyebrows raised. "Killed by whom?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Kazama's eyes flashed in alarm, and began pacing back and forth. "Was the Soul Transfer Ritual performed?!"

"Yes. My informant has told me that Orochimaru started the ritual and was overpowered by Sasuke in the mental phase. Maybe he was really killed…" Jiraiya added hopefully.

"You know as well as I that once in that phase, it cannot be stopped."

"We could be wrong…my informant has also told me that Sasuke is in control."

"Where is he now?"

"He recruited one of Orochimaru's prisoners and they were headed for…"

* * *

**Kirigakure no Sato**

Sasuke and Suigetsu have been traveling for some time now. After Sasuke successfully recruited Suigetsu, they looked for some clothes for Suigetsu and then began gathering supplies for their journey and headed for the Hidden Village of the Mist.

Not wanting to enter the borders of the Country of Fire, the two detoured quite a ways and only entered the borders of fire country when they were near the Great Naruto Bridge. Upon seeing the name of the bridge, Sasuke grunted in contempt.

"What is it Sasuke?" Suigetsu inquired.

"Nothing. Come on."

After crossing the long bridge, Sasuke led them to a nearby plain. At the edge, nearing the forest, two wooden crosses were pegged to the ground. Behind one of the crosses, pierced to the ground, stood the head cleaving sword of Zabuza, the devil of the Hidden Bloody Mist.

"I'm amazed it's somewhere like this…" Suigetsu said. He walked over to the sword and lifted it off the ground. "Zabuza-sempai, this is mine now."

Testing the weight and feel of the large sword, Suigetsu did some practice swings. "Wow, it's pretty heavy…"

"Think you can handle it yourself?" inquired Sasuke.

"The swords of the _Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu _are passed down from generation to generation…" explained Suigetsu, "…and I started my training hoping to become a member. I might even be able to beat you with this…Anyway, if you're planning to recruit Juugo, I think this might come in handy."

Suigetsu struck the large sword into the ground and proceeded to attach a strap harness for the sword. The sword had a rather long handle which could be unlocked so the sword could be carried from your back without the length of the sword being a nuisance.

When Suigetsu was finished, he nodded to Sasuke that he was ready and the two continued on with their journey.

* * *

**Otogakure no Sato**

Kabuto had been moping for months now. With Orochimaru gone, he simply did not know what to do.

After the recent departure of Sasuke, he started organizing the shinobi of the Sound Village. Unfortunately for him, many of the shinobi did not respect him, and the only reason they did his bidding before was out of fear of Orochimaru.

They were insulted by the fact that Kabuto, being a younger person than they, had a higher position, and so the medical ninja was envied by many.

"_To hell with this…_" thought Kabuto. The medical ninja wanted to keep the Hidden Village of Sound organized, but he now realized that it was the Snake Sannin that kept the whole organization together. Removing that single power block, and the whole thing came crashing down.

Yakushi Kabuto was currently pacing back and forth in the hallway of the underground main base. He heard footsteps approach him from the nearby stairway.

The ninja was garbed in the Hidden Sound village's uniform, so his whole face was concealed, but Kabuto knew who he was because of the slight limp in the way the shinobi walked.

He was Tonomoto Akira and had just returned from a long and tedious reconnaissance mission from Earth Country.

Akira was living a peaceful life with his family in the Country of Earth before Orochimaru came. When the Snake Sannin wanted to form Otogakure, Akira, like so many others, was forced to join in; his family held hostage and imprisoned in one of the many holding cells that Orochimaru had.

He was a very skilled shinobi and one of the head captains of Orochimaru's army.

During the invasion into the Hidden Leaf village a few years back, Akira was one of the ninjas in the frontline. His right leg was severely injured during the mass retreat and a fellow Oto-nin carried him back to safety.

Because of the confusion and mayhem surrounding them, Akira wasn't able to receive immediate medical attention. Luckily for him, Kabuto was not far off and healed the severed artery.

The delayed healing caused complications, but Akira didn't mind the limp. He believed it was better to walk with a limp than be dead, and had respected Kabuto ever since.

"Greetings Kabuto-sama."

"How is everything Akira-san?" replied Kabuto.

"Chaotic," smirked Akira. "Everyone's thinking, with Orochimaru-sama gone and dead, we can look for our families and return to a life of peace."

Kabuto merely nodded dumbly, not knowing what to say. His thoughts had started to wander and it was a few minutes later he noticed that Akira was still standing near him "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for orders…"

"Don't you want to go off and save your wife and child?"

"Sure I do…but after that, then what? Wait for the next guy to take them away again?"

A crease appeared between Kabuto's eyes, clearly confused.

Akira chuckled and looked at Kabuto with amused eyes. "Orochimaru is gone. The sound four no longer exist, Kimimaro is dead, which leaves only you and Sasuke-sama. Since Sasuke-sama isn't here, you're the only one left.

The other captains and I discussed what we were going to do. I managed to make them see that it was foolish to dissipate an already organized Village. Together, we could fend off enemies and any would-be opportunists.

We must act quickly Kabuto-sama, before news of Orochimaru-sama's death brings danger to us all."

"While you were gone, I…I already tried talking with them, but they wouldn't listen to me."

"They don't listen to you, but they listen to me…" Akira placed a kind hand on the young medical ninja's shoulder in a very rare display of friendliness, "…and I listen to you."

Surprised eyes look at Akira, then a slow smile. "Thank you. I'll help in organizing the village, but I don't want to be named as Otokage."

"Why not?!"

"In case Sasuke returns…he might want the job for himself."

The two made their way up the stairways to hold a meeting with the rest of the captains. Akira looked at Kabuto and asked, "Do you know where he is?"

"He freed Suigetsu before leaving, and is out to look for more members from the other bases. I overheard Suigetsu wanting to make a detour to _Kirigakure no Sato_"

"Why is he recruiting members?"

"He plans to kill his brother, Uchiha Itachi. And he needs the help of Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo."

"I've heard of this Uchiha Itcahi before. Isn't he the Leaf ninja who killed his entire clan?"

Akira looked at the grey-haired ninja by his side, expecting a reply. But he got none.

"_Oh yes…I believe that you, Sasuke-kun, will kill Itachi-san. And after that, I will convince you somehow to become the new Otokage. I will watch over you just as I watched over Orochimaru. I will feed you misinformation just as I subtly did to him... What would Akira and the rest of them say if they knew my real name was Yoshinaka Omi, Leaf Shinobi – spy at the direction of Jiraiya, as well as Tsunade's first medical apprentice after Orochimaru left? They'd fart dust, neh?"_

Kabuto had a faraway look in his eyes and a strange smile on his lips. Akira didn't know what was so funny and didn't bother to ask.

* * *

**Akatsuki Lair**

Naruto was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. Blood kept flowing over his left eye from a gash on the eyebrow, and the bone on his right forearm was fractured. His knuckles were chapped, and he tasted the metallic tinge of blood in his mouth.

Surrounding him were five clay golems and they had been battling him for what felt like forever.

A few hours earlier, Naruto had wandered into a large expanse of the cavern. He was looking for Kazama when he stumbled onto this section.

"_Sugoi!!_" thought the blonde. "_This place is huge!!_"

On one side, the wall was covered with large bookcases, filled with hundreds and hundreds of scrolls, each one a different jutsu. On another side, weapon racks stood row upon row.

He began examining the scrolls a few hours earlier, mentally storing the names he wanted Kazama to teach him since trying to learn them on his own was futile because of the chakra-blocking seal.

He was examining the different kinds of weapons when he heard a low rumbling noise behind him.

Out of the earth, sprung seven faceless creatures made of strong clay. The golems sprung on Naruto, and the blonde barely managed to jump out of the way, while grabbing a staff in the process.

He quickly swung out at the nearest golem's feet, hoping to topple it down, but the creature didn't even budge.

He turned his body sideways, avoiding the counter – punch, and continued to turn, using the momentum to roll along the arm of the creature so he could get behind it. At the max of his turn, he grabbed the end of the staff and targeted the lower back and struck with all his strength.

The staff cracked and broke into two pieces, the blow not affecting the golem at all. He grabbed the second piece of the staff and jumped. If he hadn't, he would've been crushed by another rushing golem.

At the peak of his jump, he threw the two pieces, broken ends facing forward, transforming them into stakes, down on the heads of two of his attackers. When the stakes struck into the heads, the two golems crumbled into a million pieces.

Now only five were left.

"_Oh whoopee…_"

Naruto landed a few feet away from the three bunched golems. "_Wait, where're the other two?!_"

Too late.

One came on each opposite side of him; he quickly did a backward roll, hoping the two would collide on each other. A loud boom confirmed his hope and when he looked, a large dust cloud had covered his initial position, giving him zero visibility.

Suddenly, an arm swung down from the haze, aiming for his head. He blocked with his forearm and punched back at the source but not before hearing an audible crack where the rock-like hand had struck his forearm.

The sharp pain made him cry out and he immediately retreated.

When the dust settled, the two golems had been combined after crashing into each other. To his horror, the thing in front of him began to disjoin, once again bringing the number back to five.

"That will do for now, Zetsu" said Kazama. The Akatsuki Leader had just re-entered the cavern when he heard the commotion.

Naruto sighed heavily in relief, still clutching his fractured arm.

"The boy has improved, Master Kazama..." Zetsu commented then stepped out from the shadows. "…and not as dumb as we thought."

Kazama chuckled, and called out to Naruto, "Come, I want you to meet someone."

After a few minutes, they arrived in front of a heavy wooden door. The Akatsuki leader did a series of one handed seals, and the markings on the door faded, allowing them to enter.

The room they came into was very much similar to that of Naruto's except for the girl sleeping on the bed.

"This is Nii Yugito. She will be your partner when you join Akatsuki", stated Kazama. "I'll leave you two alone for awhile to get acquainted."

Naruto didn't notice Kazama leave. He was too distracted by the beautiful girl in front of him, his mouth slightly open, finding it difficult to breath. But something happened at that very same instant that no one would ever expect.

It was not Naruto staring in awe at her.

When Yugito slowly awakened, the first thing her deep-purple eyes saw were black slit pupils in red crimson orbs.

_Kyuubi no Youko_, the master of hell, and the most powerful of all the _bijuu_, had fallen in love with a human without realizing it.

* * *

**Glossary:**

_fuda_ – charm/tag

_Kirigakure no Sato_ – Hidden Village of the Mist

_Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu_ – Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist

_Otogakure no Sato_ – Hidden Village of Sound

_Sugoi_ – amazing

_Bijuu_ – tailed demon

* * *

I know this chapter is pretty short, but I didn't want it to go any longer. Think of it as a 'setting up' chapter. I hope that you still enjoyed it.

As always, reviews are very much welcome. If you have any special requests, questions, or suggestions, don't hesitate and I'll give a reply on the next chapter's header section.

Next Chapter's Title: **Revelations **


	8. First Revelation

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

"hello"- speech, common jutsus

"_hello_"- thoughts, or other Japanese words (hope they're right though)

"**hello**"- contained individual talking, or some other major jutsu

"_**hello**_" – thoughts of the contained individual

Hi guys, sorry for the delay, but my brother and sister-in-law just had their very first son, and also the very first nephew in my family. I was quite busy helping them out as errand boy and doing what I could for the baby. Thank God for diapers.

Also, I decided to break down the **Revelations** edition into 2 chapters because I'm really sleepy and it's already 4 am here. Anyways,

**rasengan86** – you're still right on the money so far. Keep it up.

**ArmorOfGeddon** – I didn't know that. Thanks very much for the info.

**Evelsaint93** – yeah, I thought she was attractive too.

**Jpalacio** – my source site states that Nekomata only fought with Kyuubi no Youko once and even teamed up with Gobi to try and defeat the 9 tails. Can you PM me the URL of your source so I can extend my research some more? Thanks!

**Mortalone** – 1.) Tsunade only knows about Kabuto, nothing else. Jiraiya is the one pulling the strings on the rest. As the story unfolds, more will be explained. 2.) Hope the PM I sent you answered this question. If not, this chapter should be able to shed more light.

**Takashi U.** – as requested, here is the next chapter.

**Joan Mistress of Magic **- hope the wait wasn't that long :p

Now on to the story.

* * *

**Naruto: Chapter 8 – First Revelation**

**Outskirts of Kumogakure no Sato. A glimpse of the past**

Golden sunlight streamed down from the open window. In this spotlight, dust motes floated and danced gracefully without a care in the world. He sometimes wished he could be like that…not having a care in the world. One could guess that this was his equivalent of cloud gazing. And although he was one who didn't do this kind of thing, he allowed himself to be hypnotized this time.

This once.

Just this once, he allowed time for himself. Besides, what else was there to do?

It was well into their second year of training. Before coming here, they had been to many different places, seen many different and unique things. They stopped every now and then on any clearing not frequented by people to train.

At this point, the toad hermit would leave the jinchuuriki behind to gather information. The training area would be pristine and calm when he left. And in his return two or three days later with an obvious hangover, the area would seem ravaged by a storm.

A shattered boulder here, a few uprooted trees there, and large craters spread out everywhere.

Currently, they were at a house where one of many of Jiraiya's informants worked.

He was a carpenter.

Naruto loved the simplicity of this line of work. He also loved the need to work with your hands, drawing out honest sweat. It was mindless, repetitious work. The scent of sawdust mixed with freshly lumbered pinewood appealed to him.

He took all this in while waiting for Jiraiya talk with his friend. Naruto loved that quaint little house, and as he and Jiraiya walked away from it, he stole one last glance to solder it into memory.

* * *

**Outskirts of Kumogakure no Sato. Premonition of the future**

The house now lay in shambles, predestined by fate to destruction during times of conflict like so many other structures. The carpenter was long gone, and a new but very, very brief tenant now occupied the debris.

He was in hiding, although whatever madness drove him to hide in this poor excuse for cover, we will never know.

Maybe it was out of pure, raw fear. Two were after him, but not just any average shinobi…oh no…the ones after him were highly skilled. Exceeding too much in power even for a seasoned ninja such as himself.

He tried to slow his breathing so his pursuers wouldn't hear him. His heart was pounding into his ears. He hoped his enemies wouldn't find him, but they knew…they knew exactly where he was. Unfortunately for the prey, he didn't detect the _jutsu-shiki_ stamped onto his left calf.

He heard a noise to his left. He quickly drew out a kunai at the ready only to jolt at the sight of a stray black cat. The cat looked at him in a bored manner, lied down and proceeded to lick its groin. Cats are amazing animals.

This time, he heard a different crunching noise. Soles stepping on soil.

Two pairs…

One heavy, the other lighter and faster paced, probably a female. He risked a peep. The first thing that caught his eye at the distance was red clouds emblazoned into black cloaks.

Akatsuki.

It was the same two, and they seemed to be approaching his location. Taking advantage of the still long distance between them, he ran for it. The poundings of his heart threatened to burst his eardrums, but he paid it no heed, running as fast as he could with adrenaline pumped legs.

He glanced over his shoulder if the two had increased their pace of pursuit and smiled on seeing that they hadn't. They just kept on walking after him at a leisurely pace.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light quickly followed by the boom of thunder overwhelmed his senses. He was deaf, blind, and dumb as his body fell face first into the dirt, unable to avoid the leg sweep.

Now there were three.

The man felt the sharp tip of a blade on the small of his back, at the base of his spinal column. He lay still, fearing a single movement would trigger the severing of his spine.

"Need help with this?" asked the sword wielder.

"No…we can manage", replied one of the approaching two, who then proceeded to ask, "What's the status on your end?"

"The attacks to Konoha and Suna have commenced."

"Then I think your help is much more needed there than here."

The sword wielder smirked and sheathed the long blade. And just as he arrived, he instantaneously disappeared in the same blinding flash of light, the sonic boom echoing a few seconds later.

The prey, from his position on the ground, slowly turned his head to look at his two pursuers, sweat pouring profusely down his face. One was male, the other was female, but his eyes couldn't leave the gaze of the man.

Slitted pupils with crimson red irises stared back at him. "_I'm a dead man…_"

"If you don't mind, Master Naruto…I'd like to take care of this one myself", said the woman.

"As you wish, my lady."

* * *

**Present Day**

She felt very tired. Every single part of her felt so heavy and breathing in itself was arduous. She had been resting for a long time now, but it still felt like it wasn't enough. She slowly opened her eyes to see slitted pupils in crimson orbs.

The eyes mesmerized her, looking into the depths of her soul for any mysteries kept dark, kept secret, kept safe.

These eyes of fire chilled her to the core and she had to summon all her inner strength to ask, "Who are you?"

The person in front of her looked no more than a juvenile. The blonde hair fell down on his head with feather like quality and the boy's frame seemed to be in the middle stages of adolescence.

But the eyes dictated wisdom and experience in contrast to the body…seemingly containing knowledge far beyond its years. This puzzled her. She was what…seventeen? eighteen years old now?

The preservation cell had really confused her track of time, but surely she was older than this person.

The blonde opened his mouth, his lips making an attempt to form a reply. His voice was raspy and dry to her ears, as if he hadn't spoken for a lifetime.

There seemed to be an internal struggle and finally, the words came.

"I am the Ky……my name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"**Like hell it is!! What the HELL am I doing in this cage?! And how come you're the one now controlling my body?!"**

Kyuubi cringed at the unexpected onslaught into his thoughts. He turned to face the wall, away from Yugito and the door so the annoyance on his face could not be seen.

"_Impudent boy... why did he have to bother me now?_"

"**I heard that! Get back in this cage and lemme out! Now!!**"

"_Silence!! I do not know how the exchange occurred; therefore I do not know how to undo it. I will discuss this situation with you at a later time. Cease you're ranting this instant, otherwise, I will find your precious Sakura-chan and take her life with your own hands…_"

"…"

Yugito was very confused with her present situation. The last thing she could clearly remember was of two Akatsuki members viciously defeating her. After that, it had all been blurry.

No...wait. She could recall dreams of floating in green liquid, then being carried by a hideous creature which resembled a person being eaten by a plant, and lastly being cared for by a blue haired woman…was any of this real?

She was about to ask Naruto another question when a light knock followed by the creaking of the opening door interrupted her. She found herself staring at an orange-red haired man with the same orange colored eyes.

Along the bridge of his nose, on both left and right sides was what looked to be pierced metal orbs and the same ones on each ear.

Now there were two pairs of eyes staring back at her.

She opted being quiet as the wiser choice and waited. She figured that the Akatsuki robed man was of higher authority, so she decided to stare back at him rather than at the blonde, her spirit demanding defiance. The silence was heavy in the room and the atmosphere tense.

The Akatsuki Leader calmly formed the ram seal and closed his eyes. He sensed around him for any other chakra signatures, and upon detecting none, was satisfied that the coast was clear.

He quickly did a long series of hand seals and said, "Shitai Kaihen no jutsu!"

At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then a small blemish appeared on the Akatsuki Leader's cheek. The crack then quickly spread all across his face and even in his eyes.

As the thin hairline cracks spread out until it reached his hands that were still maintaining the seal, his color started to fade into a dead pale grey as of a flower withering away to the slow decay of time.

The cracks continued to spread until the body of the Akatsuki Leader appeared to be formed out of pure clumped dust and the slightest touch would bring the figure tumbling down.

Suddenly, the multitude dust moved as if shaped by the invisible hands of a master artisan, changing the contours and features of the man in front of her.

The hair changed in definition. The long, wide nose became slender and shorter, and the metal orbs along it disappeared. The long elfish ears rounded somewhat and the earrings vanished as well. The cheekbones protruded less and the mouth lessened in length. The black tainted nails turned clear, and the thick stubby fingers thinned down and lengthened out.

After the realignment, a face could now be discerned, and as life and color began to seep into the body, the dust started to solidify, like cement powder poured with water and left to dry.

The once red colored hair now bloomed into yellowish gold. The crazed orange eyes turned into crystal azure and with the metal piercings no longer marring the man's new handsome face, Yugito couldn't help but admit that he was very attractive.

"Tell me your name", she whispered.

A smile formed on the man's lips, and the sparkle in his eyes danced at the paltry light. "My name is Uzumaki Arashi."

A look of confusion appeared on Yugito's face. "The Yondaime Hokage…Konoha's Yellow Flash…but I thought you died…"

"I did…and still am…dead", replied Arashi in a matter-of-fact tone.

The crease on her brow only deepened. "Then how are you here? Now?"

"Edo Tensei", replied Kyuubi/Naruto who was still facing the wall.

Yugito's eyes widened in recognition of the jutsu and said, "But that is a forbidden jutsu! A human sacrifice is needed to perform it!"

"Yes, a human sacrifice was used, albeit an unwilling one." Seeing that Yugito was about to protest, Konoha's Yellow Flash held up a halting hand and continued. "Be at ease, the body used for this jutsu was that of a criminal in the bingo book. Nothing to fret over."

Her manner became incensed and the glint in her eye hardened at hearing his words. She reminded herself that she was among criminals, and as such thought poorly of them whatever rank they may be.

* * *

**Fifteen or Sixteen years ago.**

Nii Yugito grew up in a well to do family. Her mother, Akane Yukiko, was a good and noble kunoichi and the favorite cousin of the current Raikage.

She was very accomplished and tantamount in skill to the legendary Sannin of Konoha and was next in line for the title of Raikage. Although she made a good living, it was not enough to live a luxurious life. Fortunately, love developed between her and a young entrepreneur.

Yugito's father, Nii Tonomo, owned several shops in the Hidden Village of the Cloud, but the most prosperous one was a shop that sold women's accessories, necklaces and such. He traveled frequently to sustain his thriving business, and sensing the time ripe, he presented a ring and an engagement present to her into their third year as a couple.

The ring held the largest diamond Yukiko ever saw in her life, and it possessed a slight shade of purple, her favorite color. The present was a belt formed by beads made of purple jade.

From the ends, the hue of the jade would turn a shade darker as the beads progressed to the center, each one carefully chosen to a have a continuous flow of color. Three years worth of work collecting and refining each piece to perfection.

They married shortly after that, and within a year, his wife became pregnant. Coming home from one if his trips, Tonomo made it just in time for the delivery. It was a baby girl, and they named her Yugito. Yukiko gave the belt, her most prized possession, to their daughter with her husband's blessing.

After recovering from the delivery, Yukiko resigned from the world of the ninja and dedicated herself to a life of motherhood and loving spouse. For Tonomo, business was booming, his products in high demand even at other countries. Life was good. Life was blessed.

And it was about to come shattering down.

When the second birthday of Yugito was drawing near, Akane Morioka, the Sandaime Raikage, was invited by the Daimyo of the Lightning Country to his palace for a viewing of the Cherry Blossoms in his private garden as they came to full bloom.

The Raikage, wanting to spend time with his cousin, invited the young family to come along. The trip to the Daimyo's castle took four days and was uneventful.

They were received with pomp and ceremony, and allowed a brief time for the guests to relax from their travel. It was well into the night when they were summoned to dinner. They followed the servant into the grand dining room. The dining table was long and serpentine, elegant under the large chandelier which gave off a nice saffron glow.

The food was bountiful, the wine robust, and the company exquisite.

It was while they were eating when a servant came running into the large room and shouted that the castle was under attack. The royal guard quickly surrounded the Daimyo and began to plan his evacuation, but the Daimyo stood his ground, ordering his guardsmen to attend to his many wives and children first.

"What has happened?" asked the Raikage of the servant.

"A beast has come!! It has come to consume us all!!"

The Daimyo slapped the servant to bring him to his senses. "Snap out of it!", then turning to the Raikage, he said "Quickly, to the balcony so we can see!"

They immediately rushed to the balustrade outside, Yukiko handing Yugito over to her husband and telling him to stay put. As she rushed out to the opening and saw the creature that they were up against, all color drained from her face.

There, stood the two-tailed demon cat, Nekomata. Although many of the Daimyo's soldiers and samurai were present, a single swipe of its paw decimated their numbers. Then and there, she decided that she would be the one to seal this creature.

The Raikage quickly turned about to head for the exit and face the beast, when a hand held on to his shoulder to stop him. He looked at Yukiko and understood immediately of her intentions.

"No…I am the Sandaime Raikage, it is my duty to do this, not yours!"

Yukiko smiled serenely and lifted a hand to touch her cousin's face. "Life has been kind to me. Allow me this one request…"

"You have a daughter to love…you have a husband who needs you…me, I have nothing to lose."

"And that is why it should not be you who should go. You have yet to enjoy the fruits of life, my cousin. Mine has been blessed and I've received happiness worth two lifetimes."

Tears began to well up in the Raikage's eyes. He knew his cousin, and she was as hard headed as ever. He also realized deep inside that he was not yet ready. Not yet prepared to meet death as she clearly was, and for this, he hated himself.

"As your Raikage, and most of all, as your loving cousin, tell me your wish of a lifetime now, and I shall fulfill it."

Yukiko looked lovingly at her husband and daughter through the glass doors and said, "Take care of Yugito and Tonomo for me."

"I will. This I promise."

Yukiko gave her cousin a last embrace, wiped a tear that trickled down his cheek with a kind finger, and walked back to her family and tell them her last farewell…

* * *

**Six or Seven years ago.**

Yugito followed in her mother's footsteps and soon enrolled in the ninja academy knowing even then that she was a jinchuuriki. Although the news of the beast's attack had reached the Hidden Cloud Village, the influence of both the Raikage and the Lightning Country's Daimyo had completely hidden the truth of the incident.

They weaved lies and myths on the actual account, using gossip as a means for the news to travel. It spread like wildfire through a forest of dead grass and logs, each ear to hear the news believing it without any doubt.

She studied hard, trained long hours by herself and sometimes with her uncle, and spent all her free time with her father. Through sheer persistence and focus, her rise in the shinobi world was steady if not spectacular.

Tonomo, by then, was a broken man. Although he tried to look forward to a new future with his daughter, he knew it was futile. So, he wore his mask to hide his emotions and kept himself busy with business to hide the pain from his daughter.

But such pain should not be kept inside, and on the day that Yugito graduated into the rank of Jounin, Tonomo died of an internal disease that kept eating inside him and was to be much later known as cancer.

Yugito wept, and mourned for him until the very day that Hidan and Kakuzu paid her an unwelcome visit.

* * *

**Glossary:**

Kumogakure no Sato – Hidden Village of the Cloud in Lightning Country

Jinchuuriki – container of a tailed demon

Jutsu-shiki – trigger markers

Shitai Kaihen no jutsu – Corpse morphosis technique (I've never taken Japanese lessons before, so feel free to correct me if my grammar is wrong.)

Edo Tensei – a jutsu which revives the dead. A body is needed to execute this jutsu, and the dust of the soon to be revived dead is sprinkled all over the sacrificed body. Performed by Orochimaru during the Sand/Sound invasion of Konoha.

Raikage – Lightning shadow. The head of the Hidden Village of Cloud.

* * *

I want to thank all my reviewers and people who've added me/the fic to their favorites.

If you have any wishes or desires of events that you want to happen that would normally not happen in canon, post it up and I'll see what I can do to fit it into the fic.

Next Chapter's Title: Second Revelation


	9. Second Revelation

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

"hello"- speech, common jutsus

"_hello_"- thoughts, or other Japanese words (hope they're right though)

"**hello**"- contained individual talking, or some other major jutsu

"_**hello**_" – thoughts of the contained individual

I felt this chapter was too short, so I added more of the plot into it.

* * *

**Book of Revelation 12: 3-4**

Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red serpent, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down on to the earth. Then the serpent stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth.

* * *

**Naruto: Chapter 9 – Second Revelation**

**Somewhere in the Hidden Village of the Grass**

The room was poorly lit with only two candles aflame and having no windows, gave an ominous feel. The occupants however felt reassured by the darkness, somehow feeling that more light would violate the need for secrecy.

There were three of them, each one seated directly across another, triangulating the round wooden table in between.

"We have been meeting like this for quite some time now, and the plans for the attack have already been completed…why are we risking a final meeting?" asked the first occupant.

"There has been a recent development. Orochimaru was killed. We can no longer count on Otogakure to attack the Hidden Village of the Leaf," answered the second.

The first occupant sighed heavily and looked to the third occupant, saying "I guess that crimps your plans for Kumogakure somewhat."

"No…not really. I have been in contact with a group of mercenaries consisting of ronin, nuke-nin, and bandits in _Taki no Kuni_. They were a reserve in case strength was not enough in one of the target sectors," replied the third.

"Are they reliable?" asked the second.

"With the amount I'm paying them? They had better be," replied the third.

"Do you need help with the financing?"

"Iwagakure no sato is more prosperous than we lead people to believe and besides, I do not need stolen money from Konoha," scoffed the third occupant.

"Easy there, Tsuchikage-_dono_. We're on the same side here," the first man stated.

"I just do not understand why I have to be the one having to 'contribute' the most!" replied the Tsuchikage indignantly.

"Because you have the most to gain. With Sunagakure no sato eliminated, the entire _Kaze no Kuni_ is yours. The country with the most mineral deposits in all the land," replied the second man.

The Tsuchikage was placated by this, his greed consuming his thoughts. The second man, seeing the other falling silent looked at the first and asked, "Ishido-_dono_, how go your negotiations with the Hidden Village of Rain?"

The first man smiled with mirth and said, "Very well. I have convinced them to sign a secret alliance against Konoha. Of course, I had to slip them your name, Danzou-_san_."

"Good…soon, Konoha will fold to my will…"

* * *

**Akatsuki Lair. Yugito's quarters.**

The silence in the room was deafening, each person left to their own thoughts. And for a strange reason, the heavy silence did not put anyone at unease. Nii Yugito was still recalling how she came into this situation; her purple eyes cast down as each memory appeared in her mind's eye.

The demon fox, still facing the wall, contemplated on what to do and why the woman confused him so much. Uzumaki Arashi was closely observing the female jinchuuriki, his eyes focused on any nuance her body might display.

Then he asked, "Do you know of the legend of the tailed beasts?"

"No…except for the one I contain, not really", replied Yugito.

Arashi nodded once, figuring as much, and began his tale.

"You already know that I died, and during my short death, images of the history of the world appeared before me. And I found out that the world that we know today isn't what it always was.

A long time ago, nine tailed creatures otherwise known as the _Bijuu_ roamed the earth. Wherever these creatures went, chaos and destruction followed. From where and how they came to be, it was not revealed to me.

These creatures did not affiliate with each other, and if one bijuu encountered another, they would battle until one would retreat to fight at another time. These skirmishes continued for centuries, the people not knowing what to do but flee out of harms way.

Then, out of the lands of the west came eight great warriors. They had come to seal the creatures into the earth, and they were nearly successful. The first seven of the nine were successfully contained and sealed away; the Hachibi and Kyuubi were all that remained.

The warriors set out, determined to finish their quest and soon came face to face with the eight-headed serpent.

Battle ensued, and the warriors had weakened the serpent to the brink of death. Thinking their duty done, they moved on to the next Bijuu, not even bothering to seal the serpent away.

Only 2 of the great warriors survived the battle with the Kyuubi. And after sealing him, the pair went their separate ways.

What they did not know was the fact that a Bijuu could not be killed by mortal man. So the Hachibi survived, hid away waiting until the eight warriors faded away with time.

The Hachibi reincarnated itself into human form, momentarily forgetting what it was. And as it grew with age, so did its power and its recollection of past events.

Each bijuu's level of power is determined by the number of its rank. The Hachibi was second in power. And as each level of power reinvigorated him, the serpent emitted a wave of dark power.

Reaching the first level, the first wave reawakened the Ichibi, when it reached the second level; the Nibi was released, and so on and so forth, until upon reaching the pinnacle of its strength, finally awakening the Kyuubi, which was sealed within the borders of Fire Country.

No one knew or had forgotten of the methods of the eight great warriors, and wanting to tame and tap into these great sources of power...or if a bijuu suddenly woke up nearby a village of people, a shinobi would seal the creature into a person, making him or her into a _jinchuuriki_."

"As is what happened in my case," said Yugito.

"As with mine," replied Arashi. Then he said, "The most powerful of the bijuu, the Kyuubi, attacked the village of the Hidden Leaf during my time as Hokage. During the attack, many of Konoha's shinobi perished, including my wife."

"I'm sorry."

"There was nothing that could be done. When she died, I made a vow to stop all bijuu and cleanse this land of any trace of them…even _jinchuuriki_."

"How could you?!" cried Yugito indignantly. "_Jinchuuriki_ are not to blame and had no say in the matter! I wasn't even given a choice!"

"I know now. But this I realized to my regret, already in hind sight…"

* * *

**Flashback to the first time Kazama/Arashi visited Naruto**

Naruto studied the Akatsuki robed man in front of him. He was tall, with crazy orange eyes and reddish-orange hair. He held a quiet atmosphere, but Naruto also sensed something else. This man was strong…very strong, but he was guarding it fiercely, not wanting others to know of his true strength.

"What do you want with me?" asked the blonde shinobi, knowing that lack of caution would be a deadly mistake.

The man didn't reply, but his eyes fell on the _Shiki Fuujin_ mark on Naruto's stomach.

"_The Kyuubi…_" thought Naruto. Unable to bear the silence any longer, Naruto thought to hell with it and formed the seal for Kage Bunshin no jutsu.

"That's pointless. I put a seal on your back. It prohibits the wearer from using chakra."

Naruto ignored the words and tried summoning a hundred clones to help him…but nothing happened. He looked at the man hatefully and reached for a kunai in his weapons pouch, but only managed to grab a handful of air, the pouch missing.

"You aren't very smart are you?"

"Shut up!!" shouted Naruto, not caring anymore.

The man suddenly formed a seal and gazed intently at Naruto's eyes.

"Shitai Kaihen no Jutsu!"

Naruto noticed the orange eyes started becoming blurry and thought "_Damn it…genjutsu?!_"

Slowly, the form of the Akatuki Leader changed shape before his eyes. The hair, and the skin pigmentation changed, completely altering the appearance of the man before him.

Now standing in front of him was a face he recognized. A person he had looked up to. A person he wanted to become.

A person that was his own father.

"_Yondaime..._"

"How have you been, Naruto…?"

"I…I've…You're the head of Akatsuki all this time? Why?!"

The senior Uzumaki walked towards the bed and sat down beside his son.

"Moments before I faced the _Kyuubi no Youko_, I left behind instructions for Jiraiya with Sarutobi. I had heard news then that your mother had been one of the first casualties. I made a promise to myself then and there to hunt down every single _Bijuu_ and that if I should die; the toad hermit was to resurrect me by _Edo Tensei_.

Jiraiya was not around during the attack, and it was to be 2 years later that he returned to the village and receive my sealed letter from Sarutobi.

After my resurrection, I formed _The Red Dawn _and began my quest for vengeance."

"How could you do that? Did you also plan on killing me too?!"

"Sometimes, the suffering and death of one is necessary to save the lives of many," replied Arashi calmly.

The statement angered Naruto, but the recollection of the Yondaime Hokage dying to save his village entered his mind's eye, and so he remained silent.

"I know of how they treated you… Jiraiya has told me. "

Tears had streamed down over the whisker marks of the younger Uzumaki, unable to hold the despair that was well enclosed within. Never had he imagined this situation in all the years of solitude; to look at his father now, as an enemy.

**Flashback Ends**

* * *

"Nii Yugito. Danger looms ever closer. You, as a _jinchuuriki_ know of the suffering from the loss of a loved one. Will you allow others to feel the loss you went through?"

"…No…"

"Then will you join me and my cause to eliminate this threat?"

"This threat that you speak of…from what does it come from?"

"The second most powerful _bijuu_. The eight-headed serpent. The _Yamata no Orochi_…"

"I see."

Yugito observed the Yondaime Hokage with half-lidded eyes, wondering whether the man had any sanity left.

"If you want me to join you, release this chakra block-seal as a measure of faith from your part," said the Nibi container.

"It isn't a block. It inhibits the flow of chakra to the minimum amount for a person to survive. You've just come out of the containment cell. Your muscles have atrophied. You need to rest, so I will leave the seal on…for now."

The blonde female frowned at him and was preparing for a snappy reply but was interrupted by Kyuubi/Naruto.

"Hokage Arashi, I want to have a word with you outside."

Arashi gazed fixedly at Yugito for a few more seconds before walking outside, followed shortly by the younger Uzumaki who closed the door behind them.

"What is it?" and as Arashi turned to face his son, was bombarded with the memories of_that_ night.

Red irises. Slitted pupils. The eyes of a demon.

In less than a second, the Yoshimoto blade sang as it was drawn out and held against the sensitive flesh of neck.

"What have you done with Naruto?!"

"He is now the captive of the seal," was the calm reply.

The Akatsuki Leader's eyes hardened as steel, his face devoid of emotion. If he needed to kill his son to prevent this devil kitsune from escaping then so be it.

"I wish to help you in your cause…" stated the Kyuubi.

"…why?"

"The current situation has piqued my interest. Not to mention my earnest desire to slay my nemesis. Let's just say that the most lasting and significant entity to have walked this earth; that, which is me, has come to give you his aid."

"I don't want it."

"But have it, you will, nonetheless."

"You…killed…my…wife!!"

"Yes…I did."

Enraged azure eyes flashed against indifferent crimson ones, neither wavering; the silent battle of wills encompassing both, transforming mere seconds into a lifetime.

"I give you my word…and my honor," stated the bijuu.

"What?!"

"I give **you**…**my** word and **my **honor to help you slay _Yamata no Orochi_ and any other bijuu that threatens your…kind. And to not harm any people precious to you or to Naruto… I think you know the significance of this…"

"_Yes…I do…_" thought Arashi.

Even though the tailed beasts might seem as nothing more than mindless beasts, wreaking havoc at their wake, these beings did have honor. And along with it went an unsurpassable amount of ego. A village in its path, a wandering traveler, an innocent child…if they did not bow down before the being's might, then it was an insult to his honor. The fact that the intended victim had no knowledge of what was in front of him called for a defense in the name of honor and face. A stubborn and dim-witted trait it was.

And yet, pledging one's honor to another being, no matter how insignificant, was deemed a binding pact no seal, contract, or agreement could ever be held equal to. Such was the complexity, but yet simplicity of the matter.

"How did this…exchange…come about?" asked the former Hokage.

"I myself am mystified. But it occurred when I entered that room," was the reply as the nine tails implied Yugito's quarters.

"This must be undone." stated Arashi while sheathing the blade.

"How? And if I were returned into imprisonment, I would no longer be able to aid you."

"Even in the present circumstance, you would not be of much help. You are currently unable to use your own chakra, thus needing time for you to get used to Naruto's limited supply."

"Why use the boy's chakra when mine is infinite?"

"In the instant the exchange occurred, if your chakra also exchanged in the process then the chakra-block seal would have come off. The simple seal's limit wouldn't be able to contain such a vast amount."

"Which means…"

"Yes…I believe that only the essence of the mind has been exchanged… Turn around please."

The Fourth Hokage did a ram seal then quickly touched a series of points on Naruto's back, disabling the block seal.

"Now, please summon a shadow clone."

"What is this about...?"

"Please, just do as I ask…"

The demon kitsune eyed the man in front of him suspiciously for a few seconds, and then closed his eyes.

And suddenly a very perplexed looking _kage bunshin_ came into existence beside him.

"What the heck is going on, _dattebayo_?!" asked the clone while looking back and forth between the demon kitsune and the former Hokage.

"Just as I suspected," smiled Arashi mysteriously.

* * *

**Glossary:**

Otogakure – Hidden Sound Village

Kumogakure – Hidden Cloud Village

Taki no Kuni – Waterfall Country

Sunagakure no sato – Hidden Sand Village

Kaze no Kuni – Wind Country

Akatsuki – Red Dawn

Kage bunshin – shame on you if you do not know what this means.

* * *

Next Chapter's Title: **Moving Forward  
**


	10. Moving Forward

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

"Common speech"

"_Thoughts, emphasis_"

"**Contained individual's speech, significant jutsu**"

"_**Contained individual's thoughts**_"

o0oooooooo0o

**Author's Note: **

o0oooooooo0o

I apologize for the lateness of this update. Work has kept me busy, and I didn't have time for writing this chapter until now.

Yes, I know the real name of the Fourth Hokage is Namikaze Minato and that Mariko is Konan. And yes, I know the supposed leader of Akatsuki is Madara, but I won't be changing that in this story…and with regards to his legacy, I will leave that for the story to tell.

And so we begin…

* * *

**Naruto: Chapter 10 - Moving Forward**

**Akatsuki Lair… **

"What the heck is going on, _dattebayo_?!" asked the clone.

"Just as I suspected," smiled Arashi mysteriously.

"Which is…?" asked the kitsune.

"Although the essence has been exchanged, corporeal form still has precedence."

"Therefore, if I summon a clone, since it is the boy's body, the clone will be that of him," stated the nine tails demon.

"Exactly," replied Arashi.

"Then answer me this: If corporeal form has precedence, and I used the boy's chakra to summon the clone, why is it that the clone's chakra running within him is that of mine?" asked Kyuubi.

The fourth Hokage frowned slightly, only just now noticing this fact. "I don't know. It could be that, because Naruto is imprisoned with your chakra. The jutsu uses your chakra to maintain the clone. Or, you could've messed up the jutsu…"

The kitsune's unblinking stare bore down on Arashi and stated, "Although I have no use for clones in battle, I know how to summon them."

"_Pompous prick"_ thought Arashi.

"Cho…chotomate kudasai…" said the exasperated Naruto bunshin, as he was unable to follow the explanations. "What…what the heck happens now?! I'm so confused, dattebayo!"

Arashi looked at the clone and the demon now controlling the body of his son. "You both will need to learn how to use your new…chakra."

"Since I am now in control of the boy's body, why don't I just tear off the seal? It would simplify matters."

"If you do that, with the way things are, the both of you will die. For the seal to be released, it has to be Naruto, in his body, and of his own volition."

"Come, the both of you" continued Arashi, "We need to begin your training." And as he walked towards the main section of the cavern, he transformed back into his red-haired disguise without breaking stride.

The Naruto bunshin shifted uneasily for a moment, and followed suit.

The demon kitsune, eyes unfocused as he followed them, concentrated on the different sensations bombarding him now that he was in a human body.

It was foreign, and strange…

He felt weaker.

The minute amount of chakra the boy possessed left him feeling impotent…

He flexed his fingers one at a time, starting with his thumb and finally closing the hand to make a fist. The function of it was alien, and yet, easy to control…

He felt imbalanced and prone walking on two legs, rather than four. Not used to the exposure of his belly so openly…

He felt the cool currents of the wind against his bare skin, and was surprised that he no longer remembered how it felt against his fur…

He breathed in the stale air of the cavern, and noted how scents were less offensive…

He felt detached…

He felt freedom…

* * *

**A few weeks later…**

The nekomata container rose up from her slumber; the dancing flame of a candle urging her on.

She still felt slight traces of muscle trauma, but overall was feeling much more invigorated than before.

She made up her cot, and undressed to her underwear, the shirt and pants only a hindrance on what she was planning to do.

The coolness of the makeshift room caressed her skin, goose bumps appearing on naked flesh.

She raised her arms in front of her and slowly bent down, touching the floor.

Finding the necessary balance, she lifted her right leg, then her left.

She then sensed for any soreness inside her muscles as she completes the slow summersault, noting that her lower back and triceps needed a work out to remove the kinks.

She did a couple of warm ups before getting into the first stance of her _kumiuchi kata. _Her eyes glazing over as she imagined five enemies surround her, letting the conjured situation encompass her totally.

The one in front of her attacks with a punch aimed for the head. She blocks it with an upward thrust of the left forearm while taking one step back, she then grabs the enemy's wrist with her right hand, and proceeding to bend it, used the enemy's momentum to flip him, after which she dislocates the shoulder with a sudden pull.

Her breathe maintains to slow, deep ones as the remaining enemies proceed to attack her one by one. The enemy at the rear rushes forward. She crouches down and extends her left foot, gaining speed as she turns in the half-circle for the leg sweep.

Two more rush forward from her 3 and 6 o' clock. She does a side roll to her 9, executes a roundhouse kick to eliminate the threat from her 6, and spins around to the momentum of the kick, now facing her 3, the enemy still rushing towards her.

She performs a drop kick aimed for the kneecap, and as she lands, the last one attacks from above. She retreats to the right, still maintaining form, and delivers a chop to the base of the neck as he lands beside her, fracturing the vertebrae and paralyzing him.

She finishes the last sequence with a shout of triumph, laying waste to the last of her imaginary foes; sheen of perspiration now coating her sinewy body.

The body of a shinobi.

She grabs a towel from the closet in her room and wipes her body dry, after which, she takes a new set of clothes provided for her.

The Lady Mariko had told her before that her door would now remain unlocked, but the chakra-block seal would still be in place.

Although she protested, staking claims that she would be loyal to the organization, it still remained in place. If she put herself in her captor's position, she thought it a logical decision.

How can one really trust a captive to change allegiance so quickly, _neh_?

But she consoled herself to the fact that she could now have more space, and not be confined in her room which was starting to make her claustrophobic.

She just didn't like being caged.

So, she walked out of the room and into the cool passageway. The only direction she knew was that of the mess hall which the Lady Mariko had shown to her before.

The torches along the wall lit the way before her as she slowly made for her destination. Coming upon a fork, she was supposed to go right for the mess hall, but she heard noises on the left path. Wanting an escape from her solitude, the left path was chosen, hoping that the Lady Mariko was the one she heard training.

She neared the end of the passageway, and soon discovered that it led to a large chamber she had never been to; but what caught her breath were the people training there.

Right before her stood an army, probably a thousand strong, with the chamber barely having any room left.

And the skirmish within was chaotic.

She knew that these _just had to be_ clones. What stumped her was the fact that these clones weren't mere illusions. She tried detecting for any signs of genjutsu, still not believing what her eyes were showing her.

Either it was one damn good genjutsu…or a much more advanced stage of _bunshin no jutsu_.

She settled on the latter, and concentrated on witnessing this spectacular event.

Her wandering eye soon focused on the center of the mob. There, surrounded by an overwhelming number of clones, stood the red-haired Akatsuki leader, and that Naruto kid…juvenile…man…whatever.

She noticed that this-one Naruto had a different attribute than all the other sea-mass of Naruto bunshins.

This Naruto had eyes of crimson, while all the other blonde haired doppelgangers had eyes of azure.

Weren't bunshins supposed to be an exact copy?

So…is it possible that there are three people fighting here? She discarded that, thinking it too far-fetched and assumed that it was just a glitch from the jutsu.

She shook these distractions from her head and continued her observation.

She naturally assumed that Kazama and the crimson-eyed blonde were teamed up against the clones, and as she looked on, wave after wave of clones charged at the pair, but were soon dispelled into clouds of smoke.

Yugito was impressed at the taijutsu skill the disguised Yondaime Hokage possessed, as the army was slowly being decimated to half its original number.

Minimal energy movement usage but with maximum damage requirement…

Precision strikes…

Impeccable form…

A master in his own right…

The crimson-eyed Naruto on the other hand had a peculiar fighting technique. He stayed close to the ground, in a compressed genuflect.

Only when an enemy neared did he lash out with two piercing fingers. She noted that the tips of these fingers seemed to have ethereal claws. He would sometimes go for a leg sweep, or target a kick at the kneecap, but would always return to that compressed form; keeping his center of gravity close to the floor.

Suddenly, the clones changed tack and stopped attacking simultaneously in groups, and the ensuing silence brought about a heavy veil of pressure.

"Amazing, isn't it?" asked the Lady Mariko.

Yugito, fully absorbed by the spectacle before her, had not noticed the Lady's approach.

"Yes. I have never seen anything quite like it before…"

"As to be expected. Master Kazama is unique in that aspect of battle. His tactics are different and totally unexpected."

"Yes…they are," Yugito replied. "_I wonder if she knows that Kazama is really the Yondaime Hokage…_"

"You must be hungry."

"A little bit."

"Mmm. This way please...let's leave the boys to play."

The Nibi container felt hesitant from having to leave as an audience, but basic necessity quietly urged her on. And as she followed the Lady Mariko, she could not help but keep a lingering gaze on the crimson-eyed jinchuuriki until her view of the spectacle disappeared when they rounded the corner.

Those eyes of fire kept coming back. She didn't know what it was, but his haunting gaze drew something from her.

What it was, she couldn't say. It was like a fleeting thought that just didn't want to be remembered, lest it be focused on, and discarded.

"My lady, what do you know of that man that is with Master Kazama?"

"He is a jinchuuriki just like yourself…"

"Oh… and which bijuu does he contain?"

"He houses the most powerful bijuu of all…the nine tails."

Shock and respect could be seen from the eyes of the other jinchuuriki. She recalled during her younger years, the tedious struggle it took just from going insane. The mental strain of focusing on the daily variances of life while having to listen to the ranting of a two-tailed bijuu took its toll.

There were times where she just wanted to end it all, but it was her duty…her burden to bear. She was told by her Uncle Raikage of the sacrifices of her mother, and of many other Kumo Shinobi to imprison the mighty beast.

But was she given a choice?

Had someone stopped to ask her if she wanted this burden?

With all due respect to the people and to her mother, she did not want this…they had decided it for her. And deep within her heart, she bore a grudge against them.

It will never be spoken of, but it is there.

And so she was left to wonder, whether this other jinchuuriki had secrets of his own…grudges yet to be avenged…

Maybe…just maybe…they could make their way out of this darkness…together.

* * *

**Training Cavern… **

"Well done, Naruto. You have come very far in a very short amount of time."

"Thank you. This was the training method taught by Kakashi-sensei…"

"Yes. I understand the concept. It was ingenious of him to think of it. If you calculate the time we've been training using his method, you've been training here for 10 years already…"

"Yeah…I guess…"

Kazama sensed something amiss within his son, and wanted to divulge it without the prying ears of the nine tails.

"Kyuubi, may I…"

"Fire Shadow Arashi, I want you to call me Kitsune."

A raised eyebrow was the initial reply. "Very well…Kitsune, may I speak with Naruto alone?"

"Of course. If you will point out another section of this cavern for me to continue training, I will be on my way."

"_Arigato gozaimasu_…the path to the left will lead you to the library section. It is quite spacious."

The Kitsune nodded in reply and made his way.

Upon entering, he noticed the Nekomata container perusing a book. He silently walked towards her, all the while, admiring the grace and poise with which she stood.

"_Anata-no namae wa?_" What is your name?

Yugito, startled by the new presence looked over her shoulder.

There he was. Him, with that calm unblinking gaze.

Where did he go off asking for her name just like that when he didn't even offer his first?

Wait…

he did…

Naruto, wasn't it?

"_Watashi no namae wa Nii Yugito desu…_" It's Nii Yugito

"_...Yoroshiku onegaishimasu…Are wan nan desu ka?_" …Pleased to meet you…what is that?

She looked at him in a questioning fashion and said, "_Hon…_" A book…

"…_Suki desu ka?_" …Do you like it?

"_Suki desu._" I do.

"_Naze desu ka?_" Why?

She shrugged in reply, not really knowing what to say. It was …a book. Why ask so many questions about a book?

"I'm sorry. I guess what I'm trying to get to is, I would like it if we were friends…"

"I've got plenty of friends."

"I don't have any."

"Well, I can see why."

"…I didn't mean to offend you just now. I'm sometimes…not quite at home around … people.

I get too immersed in…whatever it is I do, and I end up alienating any companions I have along the way... I don't seem to have developed …--"

"Yes?"

"I have a certain promise to fulfill, and it will take up most of my time. But sometimes I…speculate…that I haven't left room for…anything else in this journey."

"Hmmm. I'm sorry to say I know what you mean."

Somehow, a companionable silence befell the two. She hadn't noticed that along the conversation, their bodies had inched closer together. And it amplified the magnetism of his unblinking gaze. Crimson eyes. How they mystified her so.

"Well, um…I have to go get some rest." And she began to walk away.

"Good night, Yugito."

She stopped and without looking back at him asked, "How do you know the time? We are too entombed to tell."

"I just do."

"Good night to you, Naruto…"

* * *

**Glossary:**

Otogakure – Hidden Sound Village

Kumogakure – Hidden Cloud Village

Taki no Kuni – Waterfall Country

Sunagakure no sato – Hidden Village of the Sand

Konohagakure no Sato – Hidden Village of the Leaf

Kaze no Kuni – Wind Country

Akatsuki – Red Dawn

Kata – a series of movements and techniques practiced in a pattern to instill discipline on mind and body.

Kumiuchi kata – empty hand/ grappling kata.

Nemokata – demon cat.

From here on out, if I say Naruto, I refer to the kage bunshin. If I say Kyuubi or Kitsune, I refer to the Kyuubi now controlling Naruto's body.


	11. Truths

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

"Common speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"_Emphasis/ japanese statements"_

"**Contained individual's speech/ significant jutsu**"

'_**Contained individual's thoughts**_'

**Naruto: Chapter 11 – Truths**

**

* * *

**

The walk back to her quarters was a time of reflection for the female jinchuuriki.

She admitted that she was lost. Never before had a situation risen in such extremity as this.

How can she escape?

What alternatives did she have?

How can she go **home**?

No one answered her, and she had none herself.

She thought she had a glimmer of hope in pairing up with Naruto, and together, they could find a means to escape.

But the Akatsuki leader was his father, and that was certainly an obstacle.

If she could somehow talk with him in secret. Find any nuances to indicate that there was a stormy relationship between father and son, she just might have a chance.

So that will be the first step to freedom. Find a crack and create a bigger one.

Perhaps she should seduce him? That would certainly expedite things, wouldn't it?

Men could never resist the wiles of women.

She smirked. This was fact.

But did she have it in her? Could she sleep with a man she did not love?

The father was no problem. '_He's a hunk_,' she admitted.

But she had to seduce the son. Have him fall so infatuated with her that he would be at her beck and call. That any whim she would have, he would do.

The father might still have relations to a wife, and she didn't know the strength of that bond. And besides, aren't the younger ones always ready to go?

She hugged herself and felt a delusional chill. She had never done this sort of thing before.

And yet, it was something that needed be done.

Leave all thoughts of passion. Make the body into a tool. Get the job done.

And with these last thoughts, she told herself to sleep on it as she went inside her room.

* * *

"Now, what is it that troubles you, my son?" asked Arashi.

"Well…what is the point of all of this? Are you going to use me and that other jinchuuriki in hunting down the remaining bijuu?"

"No. That was my initial plan ever since I formed Akatsuki…but now things have gotten quite complicated…"

"How?"

The Yondaime Hokage smiled and stated, "I never realized that what I was doing was wrong. But you and Yugito have changed all that. My only problem now is of thinking up a way of undoing all this."

"Let's just leave then."

"Leave a very organized group of S-class criminals, who are very well funded, alone? I don't think so." "_And there are other matters that you do not know, and do not need to know of…_"

"In the meantime," continued Arashi "I'll train you, while we are still in the cover of their ignorance. And I think it is time to teach you _that_ technique."

"What? What?" asked the excited clone.

"How to travel as Thunder Gods do," smiled Arashi proudly.

"_Hi…Hiraishin no Jutsu…_"

"Yes."

"Eh…is it a bloodline limit only our family has? Because that would be so cool."

"Sorry to disappoint, but no."

Naruto's face frowned in disappointment then said, "So how come Kakashi-sensei, or any other genius shinobi weren't able to copy it?"

"That's because 95 percent behind _Hiraishin no jutsu_ is in preparation. You could even say 99. It all becomes possble because of seals. You see this kunai? It's a special jutsu type. But the main difference of it is that it is capable of storing chakra. Also, you will need to learn how to do reverse summoning.

What happens is, I prepare the jutsu before hand in secret. When the need to use it occurs, no hand seals are required since I've already stored the hand sequence and the chakra into this seal," he said, pointing at the seal wrapped around the three pronged kunai's handle.

"Activating the seal is as simple as sensing your chakra. Simple but not easy," Arashi pointed out. "It takes practice and patience to cover a large area for chakra signature, and pinpoint it."

"Do you mean, anyone could do this jutus?" asked the clone incredulously.

"Yes. But it isn't a jutsu for the lazy man. For every single kunai I have in supply, chakra equivalent to summoning Gamabunta is stored. And then I make the hand sequence and store that into the seal. For every... single ... one ... I have in stock. "

"_Sugoi…_"

"Which reminds me, did Jiraya teach you the art of seal making during your time with him?"

"A little. I wasn't that interested in it. Too boring."

"Heh. I bet you prefer the real flashy techniques wherein people see your chakra burst with all the flare of fireworks."

"Heh heh. Yeah, that blows enemies away!!"

"Naruto…the mark of a great warrior is humility. That along with patience."

"Yeah, Ero-sennin said the same thing but…"

"He's a bad example so don't bother finishing your statement."

"Well, what does it mean to be patient?" asked the younger blond, somehow knowing that the question wanted to be asked.

"There are seven emotions: Anger, joy, grief, jealousy, hate, adoration, and anxiety… If you hold back your inclination to these seven, then you will soon understand all manner of things and be in harmony with Eternity."

"But we aren't just tools for war. I don't in believe that."

"In battle, use patience. When meditating, use patience. But let emotion flow when the sun shines bright, and your loved one is beside you. I advise caution because you immerse yourself wholely into emotion. It is the link between you and the Kyuubi. If you let go to this, then the kyuubi can easily take over."

"So…emotions are what weakens the seal?"

"I wasn't able to study the intricacies of your seal enough. But seeing recent events, and from what Jiraiya has told me about this fox's coat, I would think **yes** as the answer; especially when you are angry. Now, let's move on. Please hold these chakra leaflets so we can determine what your affinity is."

"I already did this with Kakashi-sensei. My chakra's affinity is wind. Just like yours."

"That was when you had control over your body. But now, kyuubi's chakra is what runs through your coils."

"Oh yeah…" Naruto reluctantly took one piece and applied chakra into it. But strangely, nothing happened.

"Um…now what?" asked the bewildered clone.

"My chakra cannot be discerned with this mundane method," stated the demon king as he returned.

"Can you tell you tell us then what affinity your chakra is, Kitsune-san?"

"Hellfire."

Father and son stood side by side, bewildered by this revelation. Then the clone burst out "WHAT?! You mean to tell me that I have to start elemental chakra training from scratch?!"

"Naruto, you already know nature manipulation. That skill alone is already more than half of what you need to know. All that is left to learn is effective application," replied the Kyuubi. "Let me demonstrate…"

Pulling back the sleeves of the orange jacket, the demon fox began to mold chakra on his right hand and a blue sphere began to take shape.

He then held his left hand over the sphere and within seconds, four spikes began to circle the globe. The shape increased in size to about two feet in width, humming with bated anger. The dead calm wind in the cavern came to life, commanded by the force at the demon's hand.

"Behold, Hokage Arashi, the jutsu your son created. _Fuuton: Rasenshuriken_ in its complete state."

"**How…?**"

'_Ah…you are up and about. I have been in existence for countless millennia, boy. Taking your jutsu to its completed state poses no difficulty for me_.'

"**And you didn't think about teaching me?!**"

'_What would I have gained? And did you not renounce my power? Boasting that you shall conquer all with your power alone.'_

"**Renouncing your power and teaching me is different!**"

'_Renouncing my power is equivalent to renouncing me.'_

"**Screw you, you bastard.**"

'_Tell me, Naruto. How does it feel to be caged?_

"**Hmph.**

**Arashi will find a way to bring me back. And when he does, I promise you, I will have my vengeance.**"

The demon king mentally shut out the conversation as he dispersed the jutsu, the last statement disturbing him.

What if Arashi did find a way to return him to his cage? That was a thought he did not wish to dwell on.

"Naruto, I'm proud of you," declared Arashi. "Until now, I've never been able to fuse elemental chakra into the Rasengan. This jutsu goes beyond S-class."

"Eheh. Thanks. It wasn't easy. Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-taichou really pounded me to the ground with it," replied the clone while scratching his head in an act of modesty.

"I would certainly think so…Kitsune-san…where were you just now?" asked Arashi.

"Hmm? I am right beside you, Fire Shadow."

"No. What I meant was, your mind seemed to drift off for awhile there."

"Ah…yes…your son and I…we were having an internal conversation."

"I see. About what?"

"Over a trivial matter… It is nothing."

"Very well. It's getting late. Naruto, you can disperse yourself now so you and Kitsune-san can rest. Also, I won't be around tomorrow, thus he and you will just have to make do without me."

"Okay," replied the clone and watched as the disguised Hokage left him alone with his real body.

"Hey Kyuubi, can you teach me some techniques using your chakra tomorrow?"

The clone obviously had no inkling about the conversation between the fox and the imprisoned Naruto.

"Tomorrow shall be tomorrow. I think it best that you rejoin your real self before planning the next course of action."

"Wakarimasu."

And with that, the clone dispersed in a plume of smoke. Leaving the master of Hell all alone in the silent cavern.

* * *

**Konohagakure no Sato…**

She was weary.

The task of informing the closest relative of a shinobi killed in action is never easy.

The deceased was part of the daily patrols for the 50 kilometer radius check of the village's perimeter.

They were nearing the North Western checkpoint, when an ambush occurred.

The border office for that area soon noted of their delayed arrival. A search team was immediately sent out and found the four man team decimated.

All killed except for one.

He was given first aid and then rushed to Konoha Hospital, but his heart had stopped for more than four minutes before he was discovered.

These guerilla ambushes were increasing in frequency, and they still had no idea who was responsible.

Fortunately, no civilians or clients of Konoha have been harmed. It was always border patrol, that were attacked.

Haruno Sakura could do nothing. The brain damage was irreparable, and even if the heart had kept beating, the physical injuries sustained by the internal organs would still have left him in a vegetative state.

No, nothing could be done, but the guilt still lay heavily within her. And now, it was her task to inform the 18-year old chunin's parents of his demise.

Sometimes, she hated her job.

She was now heading for the waiting room, two floors below, and opted for the stairs. She was reluctant with every very single step.

She wanted to tell the head nurse to be the one to inform the parents, but that would be evading her duties as head physician on duty.

No…it had to be her. And that just sucked. Big time.

Somehow, it never seemed fair that a visitor can only learn moments later that the patient passed away.

That they didn't know about it firsthand. That they weren't there during the final moments.

How do you tell someone that a significant other is no more?

How does one tell a mother that the child she gave birth to is now deceased?

How can one begin to empathize?

She could always go about it scientifically.

'_The brain did not receive oxygen due to a cardiac arrest. Therefore, resuscitation would serve no purpose, since doing so would have left the body in a vegetative state.'_

No.

That would've been too cold. Way too cold.

And she didn't like being cold.

Ever since Naruto's disappearance, she felt alone. And she hated it. It was another team mate, gone all over again. But this time, there was no team 7 comrade/teammate to lean on to.

There was always Ino. But her team had joined the 20th legion, and was rarely home. And Kakashi-sensei always had missions.

She realized that she was never that close with any of the others of the Rookie 9.

And Sai was just so…Sai. Although he has been making an effort, he is still far from what the original team 7 had and shared.

One day passed on to the next with no meaning. No objective. No purpose.

And she herself felt like being in a vegetative state. Wasting the time away in redundant tasks like a programmed machine.

She missed the spice of life. The spontaneity of it. The spontaneity of Naruto.

But missing him will have to be put on hold for now. She needed to concentrate on the task at hand and not slip up. She had to resume being the programmed machine.

Because the door of the waiting room now lay before her.

* * *

"Tsunade."

"Just this once, and you know as well as I do that this is indeed very rare, I'm going to be polite… Can you PLEASE use the door?! That is where the entryway is. That is it's purpose. And other than that, where the hell have you been?!"

"And go through the trouble of knocking then asking if I can come in, at which point you know it is me, at which point you can then decline my passage. Whatever."

Jiraiya felt the spike in her chakra but didn't care. The news he bore was much too important.

"Did you hear me? I asked where the hell you've been for the past year and a half!!" she shouted, facing the toad hermit, who was sitting on the windowsill.

"I've been gathering information."

"HA! What a laughable ex.." "War is coming…" "…cuse. Wait, what?!"

"Another shinobi war is coming. There has been a lot of military mobilization occurring in Iwagakure."

She sighed. "Iwa again? Why are they such war crazy people?"

Jiraiya was looking over the village, thinking along the same lines.

Tsunade remembered that war in which Konoha had won, thanks to Konoha's Yellow Flash.

She had only heard about the details in the aftermath, since she no longer resided in Konoha during the time.

This time around, the Konoha Flash was no more. The professor was no more. And countless other legends she hardly could remember were either swept away by the tides of time, or retired.

This time, they had the Copy-cat Kakashi, the mighty Green Beast Gai, Asuma of the 12 Fire Lord Guardians, the former ANBU Yamato, apprentice of the Snake Sannin Anko, and Ibiki the merciless interrogator in the jounin specialist ranks.

Konoha also had the elite ANBU, as well as the mysterious ANBU of the Ne in their arsenal.

And of course, they had two of the legendary Sannin.

They would be the frontlines. The tip of the spear. The first to face possibilities of death.

Whereas the countless Chuunin, and medic nin would be the ever important support.

They would have to make do. There might not be much time left.

"When?"

"I still don't have the specifics. But we should prepare nonetheless."

"Yes…there is another matter that you need to know…"

"What is it?"

"Naruto is missing."

The toad hermit quickly face the blonde Hokage, "WHAT?? For how long?!"

"Nearly two years now."

'Could he possibly be with Arashi? If so, why didn't he tell me? Damn it!!'

"Jiraiya, you heard nothing of this in your spy network?"

"No…Tsunade, I need to go. I need to meet someone right away," he replied as he quickly jumped away from the window.

"Wait!"

But he was already too far away to have heard her. Konoha was victorious in round 1. Who will win round 2?

* * *

Knock, knock.

"Enter."

"Sir, I did as you ordered. It seems that your information about Iwa are accurate."

"I see."

"And not only Iwa. There has been heavy activity in Amegakure, and Kusagakure. Also, many of the nuke-nin in Taki no Kuni have banded together and have become alarmingly organized.

"Takigakure no Sato has long been assaulted with civil wars because of divided factions for many years. It is interesting that something would make them band together."

"Yes."

"Thank you. We might be mobilizing sooner than I expected. Be at the ready, Itachi-san."

"As you wish, Hokage-sama."

* * *

Next Chapter's Title: **Exodus **


	12. Exodus

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

"Common speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"_Emphasis / japanese statements"_

"**Contained individual's speech/ significant jutsu**"

'_**Contained individual's thoughts**_'

As you may have noticed since Chapter 5, this fic has slowly transformed into something slightly darker. I am trying to pass on the slow development of Naruto's way of thinking as he matures somewhat.

Naruto always possessed wisdom, he just unknowingly didn't show it. Also, I would recommend reading _Death of a Kage Bunshin_ by Foxie-sama. It encompasses the emotions and thoughts that I am trying to convey to my readers.

Lastly, people keep telling me about the real identities of the faux Akatsuki leader and his female companion as Pein/Nagato and Konan. I know who they are. Do take note that this fic was published in 2006. The identity of Pein/Nagato and Konan were revealed late in 2008 and I have no plans in changing their names. **They will remain as Arashi and Mariko**.

Onwards…

**Naruto: Chapter 12 – Exodus**

**

* * *

  
**

He hated the darkness. And this is why he was always near the bars of what was formerly Kyuubi's prison, the torched flames on the other side waving to him lazily.

He never once thought about being caged before. That was why he was always outdoors during his youth.

He bore all the hated looks and the jeering. He loved the kiss of the sunlight and the wind's caress.

But it was gone now.

He reached out and touched the cold metal bars, feeling the finality of them.

Darkness…nothingness…emptiness…

With it came the fear and despair. The angel of his nightmares come to life; reveling in the shadows for its unsuspecting victim.

And when it rears its ugly head, all traces of hope will have left you.

He wondered why the Kyuubi had always delved in the darkness whenever he came to visit.

The veil that it was. The mystery that it was.

He had always associated the abyss with negative emotions.

Anger, hatred, despair, jealousy, and fear.

And as these emotions began to consume his being, the malignant chakra behind him danced and flickered about as the crimson haze drew closer.

He turned about and readied to draw on his own and repel it. But he soon realized that in this…zone…he had none.

He edged himself further against the metal bars, distancing himself, and still it drew nearer.

He lashed out on impulse, with fear fueling his veins. And at this command, the crimson chakra swirled about him and shot out along his outstretched arm at a frightening speed.

Had it just…obeyed his will?

Surprise. Surprise.

Life was just full of it.

If there had been a living object before him, it would've been decimated by the chakra's raw power.

He made another wave of his arm, stunned and slowly getting excited at finally finding something to do, as the chakra followed his command albeit lethargic this time.

He frowned at this and made another moving command, but the chakra did not move, and merely resumed its pulsating float before him.

A raised eyebrow was all that showed of his puzzlement. Now what the hell was wrong?

He recalled his recent activities, which…weren't much. Had he accidentally made a jutsu? Form a seal?

Yeah right…all he was doing was sitting down and being emo…

emo…

emotional…

Didn't Arashi mention something about emotions being the key to the seal or something?

He closed his eyes and concentrated on remembering what emotions he was feeling just before the chakra acted up.

He was feeling sad. Afraid. And angry because of his situation. Guess we'll have to go through them one by one.

Okay. So…how does one go about being sad? He recalled the burial of Sandaime-jiji, and how depressed he felt during the time and allowed himself for the sadness to encompass him. He opened his eyes, and feebly made an attempt. No dice.

Next. Fear. When was the last time he was really afraid? Well, just now, he guessed. But he couldn't quite capture the feel of it, so he tried another image in his mind's eye.

The villagers.

They were coming for him. The promise in their eyes for agonizing pain to come would always haunt him. He made the attempt. Close, but no cigar. The chakra made the slightest of movements but stopped immediately.

Last.

Anger. This should be easy. He remembered Orochimaru's laugh, as he taunted Naruto. He remembered the pale skinned abomination in the Forrest of Death. The way his neck elongated and aimed for Sasuke's neck. The cursed hand that held the Kusanagi sword to kill Sandaime-jiji…

He felt a stirring wind about him, and was not surprised to see the crimson chakra envelope his body when he opened his eyes. He had known instinctively that anger, unlike the other emotions, sharpened his focus. Anger made his thinking process flow with astounding clarity.

"_Patience, Naruto…_" he recalled Arashi saying.

Yes…patience was the answer. But anger was the enlightenment to which he had understood it.

To which he had understood harmony and balance.

* * *

The Demon Lord found it difficult to sleep, and restlessly explored the caverns, seeking…something. He would know when he came upon it. He came upon the door to his quarters, but resisted entering, and continued on at a brisk pace.

"**What's the matter?**"

'_Should you not be sleeping?_'

"**I could say the same for you**. **A body needs rest.**"

'_I am not tired as of the moment._'

"**Even so. I recall Ero-sennin saying that bijuu are large masses of chakra, so I'm thinking that, you don't have bodies, right?**"

'_That is correct._'

"**Then you wouldn't know about fatigue and how it can affect shinobi in battle, would you?**"

'…'

The imprisoned blonde sighed then said, "**Can you summon a me for me?**"

'_Why?_'

"**I think your sleeplessness has to do with that adrenaline thing. Sakura mentioned that it gives a temporary boost of euphery…euphoree…um…**"

'_Euphoria._'

"**Thanks. Yeah, a boost of euphoria, making the body temporarily stronger and stuff.**"

'_What makes you think I currently have this adrenaline symptom?_'

"**Well, back then, when I got too excited about a mission on the next day, I found it hard to sleep. So what I did was, I'd do exercises 'til I'm drop dead tired. I think your excited about something…just don't know what.**"

'_So…you wish me to do exercises with your clone?_'

"**I wanna spar…**"

The demon lord smiled. True, a fight between himself and the young jinchuuriki had been an unspoken promise if ever the opportunity presented itself. He envisioned the _kage bunshin _sealin his mind's eye and released the appropriate chakra.

"You know, that's pretty cool," stated the newly summoned clone.

"What is?"

"The way you can do jutsu just by imagining the seal. It could be handy when fighting against the sharingan. That way, they can't follow the seal sequence, and won't know what jutsu you plan to use."

"**Yeah, he's right**," observed the imprisoned Naruto.

"As a bijuu, I performed techniques by pure concentration. Your human act of performing hand sequences is actually an aid for mental focus."

"I'm sorry but I don't understand," replied the clone. "**Me neither…**"

The Kyuubi closed his eyes in slight frustration, but then continued, "The forming of a single seal by hand somewhat molds your chakra. An entire sequence molds it further along until it is properly…'formed' is the closest word that comes to mind…Each type of hand seal has an equivalent chakra 'shape' or 'form'. As you stack these molded chakra, your jutsu is internally made ready. The saying of the jutsu name is the final sequence to which you manifest it. But all this can actually be bypassed. Utilizing perfect chakra control renders hand sequencing unnecessary. The chakra of bijuu and humans differ in the sense that some of your chakra is derived from physical endurance. This link is excluded from bijuu. Ours is pure mental control for the formulation process."

"**Can I learn this process?**"

"Yes, you can learn it through extensive chakra control exercises," stated the Kyuubi aloud for the benefit of the clone.

"Can you train me now?" asked the clone.

"I thought it was your desire to spar?"

The clone smirked then said, "Bring it on!"

The clone quickly jumped back and readied himself while already forming the shadow clone seal.

Above.

The second clone torpedoed down as swirling crimson chakra solidified at the outstretched hand.

"Rasengan!"

The demon kitsune raised an arm, and from it gushed forth blue chakra forming into a deadly spear.

The second clone saw the immediate danger, summoned another clone behind the kitsune with his free hand and met the chakra spear with his rasengan.

As the two chakra manipulations met, an incredible grinding sound echoed throughout the walls and threatened to smash its very foundations.

Upon closer inspection, the chakra spear also rotated on its axis. In all the years the demon has dwelled within Naruto, he observed that the rotation of the rasengan was relative to which hand the jinchuuriki held it on. If it was held in his right hand, majority of the chakra in the sphere rotated counter-clockwise and on the left, clockwise; the chakra spinning inwards.

Seeing the right hand extended by the clone, Kyuubi manipulated his chakra clockwise to oppose the rasengan and increased the rotation frequency than that of a rasengan.

'_The devil is in the details'_, he smirked.

"**What does that mean?"**

Not bothering to reply, the demon extended the spear's length to impale the clone above. The rasengan gave two seconds worth of resistance before succumbing to the fury of the spear.

Crimson eyes neither blinked nor looked away as the fierce blue chakra impaled the clone and continued on to drill the cavern's ceiling. Pain tinged his eyes from the dust, but his focus was total, and the imprisoned Naruto felt respect for the demon king. His focus was incomparable.

'_A disturbance…from behind…'_

The kitsune ducked and did a forward roll as the second rasengan passed overhead. He timed the roll to have access to the second clone's exposed belly. Once his head was tucked in, and his hands touching the floor, his feet kicked upward. The force of the kick to the abdomen immediately dispelled the second clone.

When he stood up, he heard labored breathing, and was surprised to find that it was his own.

He had laced the air around him with wind-natured chakra, which had a radius of three feet. Any foreign movement above ground within this radius notified the Kyuubi of impending danger.

"**Almost caught ya…"**

'_Almos__t and __having caught__ me is a large difference…where is the primary clone? Did he quit?'_

"**You know me better'n that…"**

'_Indeed…_'

Meanwhile, the clone had flickered to the entrance of the cavern and hid around the corner. The knowledge he accumulated from the dispersed clones came to him, and was surprised to learn that the knowledge of the original Naruto was interspersed with that of the prior two.

'_What the heck did he mean by the devil in the details?_', he thought.

He didn't like the situation, especially with that aura around the demon. He realized that all his attacks were close-ranged and criticized himself for not learning more ranged attacks, but he was one to look the enemy in the eye and attacking from afar was definitely not his style.

He eliminated these thoughts since negative thinking was a waste of energy. He calmed himself down and revised his strategy.

Kyuubi discerned his surroundings and waited. The silence was heavy to bear, but soon enough, he heard footsteps from the entrance.

The clone had a determined look, and started molding chakra to his hands. The kitsune looked on, already molding chakra within to take the offensive. Kyuubi then formed a circle with his hands, and centered it over his abdomen to expel the formed chakra similar to Shikamaru's pose when formulating a strategy.

Suddenly, air bullets were sent towards the clone in astounding speed.

The clone dodged to the left and retaliated by throwing fiery balls of red chakra.

"Impressive. You applied what you learned from Jiraiya and Kakashi about chakra manipulation."

"**Anything to get right back at you…chakra is chakra, right? My clone just reshaped your chakra into a rasengan."**

"Yes, but you forget about elemental weaknesses…"

The Kitsune slammed both palms on the ground, and once the fireballs of chakra were about to hit him, a slender but powerful tornado tore up from the ground.

The two chakras collided with ferocious intent.

"**What the…?!? Fire's supposed to trump wind! And isn't your hellfire stronger than regular fire?!"**

'_Yes, but you still have many to learn, boy…'_

Both clone and imprisoned Naruto looked on with awed curiosity at the outcome of the chakra clash.

As soon as the red chakra hit the tornado, the whirling wind was engulfed in dark red flame and the fiery tornado continued its dervish dance between the two combatants.

"You forget the basic properties of the elements…tell me…why does fire trump wind?"

"**Because wind feeds fire."**

"Correct. Have you noticed that when you blow to a flame, it follows the direction you are blowing to?"

"**Yeah…"**

"When two jutsu of opposing elements clash, the outcome is decided by the stronger jutsu. My tornado simply had more power behind it than your hellfire rasengan. The flames engulfed my tornado, but I can then direct it back to my opponent…"

"_**Wakarimasu.**_**"**

The clone and bijuu heard quick approaching footsteps and turned to see Kazama and Itachi approaching. With a wave of his hand, the demon lord dispelled the flaming tornado and turned his attention at the pair.

"Good to find both of you still here. We need to leave immediately," stated the Akatsuki founder.

"What is the matter, Kazama-san?" asked the bijuu.

"Itachi knows who I really am as well as the switch between you two. So you may call me by my real name in front of him," Kazama replied then turned to the clone. "Konoha is in danger. War is brewing among the five nations. We must leave immediately."

"What of the other jinchuuriki?" asked Kyuubi.

"We take her with us. We cannot afford another bijuu to fall on the hands of the remaining members."

"I will inform her."

"Thank you, Kitsune-san. We meet back here within the hour."

"Fire shadow, I would like a change of clothes. The ones on me are quite uncomfortable."

Kazama never noticed it before, but Naruto's body had grown surprisingly fast while in captivity. His orange pants were at mid-shin, and sported holes from all the strikes induced during his 'training period'. The jacket had lost an entire sleeve, and had burn marks all over.

"Itachi-san. See to it."

"Hokage-sama, what of Mariko-san?" asked Itachi.

Kazama hesitated a moment then said, "She need not be part of this."

"_Hai_, Hokage-sama. Kitsune-san, please follow me. Naruto-kun, please dispel yourself."

"Okay," replied the clone and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"I'm sorry to say I have a very limited range in terms of color. I believe Naruto-kun loves orange."

"He and I do not share the same taste," replied the Demon Lord.

"Will black be suitable?"

"It is preferred."

"…So…is it true?..."

"What is?"

"The Uchiha sharingan…was it really…a gift...from you?"

"Your question hesitates."

"I don't know if it is a gift or a curse."

"It is both."

"What did my ancestors do to deserve such a thing?"

"It was because of one man. In my final battle against my nemesis, Yamata no Orochi, the leader of a nearby village my nemesis kept terrorizing saw the opportunity of ridding the eight-headed snake. He distracted my nemesis by striking at his tail, which shortened the length of my battle at the cost of his life. His name was Uchiha Susanoo…"

"Su…Susanoo?"

The Demon Lord smirked and stated, "Yes. He is now immortalized as you well know, Itachi. Forever to help the Uchiha clan. I granted his heirs the gift of the sharingan, but like all great power, it comes with a cost."

"Over using it leads to blindness…"

"Correct. Then came…Uchiha Madara and him taking his brother's eye..."

"So the attack to Konoha…you were controlled by Madara?!"

"My own gift used against me. Quite ironic. He is very much alive…and in the guise of-"

"Yes. Hokage-sama suspected as much," interrupted Itachi.

"And what do you and Arashi plan to do about it?"

"We don't know if the two of us can take him on just yet. So we'll keep playing the charade that the Rinnegan is within his grasp."

"Do not underestimate Madara…"

"Don't underestimate the Yondaime…after all…he did beat you didn't he?"

"Insult me at your peril, child."

"My apologies_,_" replied Itachi.

They'd arrived at Itachi's quarters, and the Uchiha proceeded to open a cabinet.

"Take your pick. And use this," said Itachi as he handed an Akatsuki robe over.

* * *

Yugito lay restlessly on her cot, a light sheen of sweat covering her body. The air was humid and clung to her and because of it, sleep evaded. She had chosen a decision for her earlier dilemma and she only hoped that this experience would not leave any scars.

She wasn't embarrassed of the physical scars that marred her body. Although few, she was quite proud of them. What she feared were the hidden scars imbedded deep within the depths of one's person. These were tribulations that only the self could solve.

She sighed deeply and clenched her eyes shut. They call out to her…haunt her…taunt her. These doubts of self claw away at her built defenses, and she trembles when alone in the darkness.

Someone knocks at the door.

All insecurities are forgotten, and Nii Yugito, elite kunoichi of Kumo, returned. "It's open."

There stood her would-be prey in a new set of clothes. He now donned the Akatsuki cloak, unbuttoned, and beneath it, he wore a _gi_ similar to that of Itachi's. Time to begin.

She looked at him with slightly dazed eyes, implying want in a subtle manner. She emphasized her breathing to make the rise and fall of her chest more noticeable.

"Naruto-san. Come in…please."

"We are leaving. Come with me."

The abrupt reply stopped her momentum. With much surprise, she stood unsteadily and walked toward him.

"What do you mean? Are you escaping?" she asked while trying to sound indifferent, suspicious of a test from her captors.

"No. The two of us, together with Arashi and Itachi are leaving Akatsuki. Our villages are in danger."

The crimson eyes unblinkingly held her violet ones.

"Take these. It is cold out." He handed her a new set of clothes as well as another cloak with crimson clouds. "Be at the training cavern in half an hour's time," he said and began walking away.

For a few seconds, what she heard left her in a stupor. Getting a hold of herself, she quickly changed and followed him.

What was happening? And what did he mean by the villages being in danger? Kumo? Damn it. Now what?

She arrived at the cavern to see the three Konoha nin. "Kazama! What's going on?"

Arashi, still in his disguise, replied, "A situation has risen. Konoha, Kumo, and Suna are going to be attacked soon. We've received intel of a substantial force on the move. If they succeed, the precious balance between countries will deteriorate and we could well be seeing a new war that puts all shinobi wars combined to shame."

"Isn't that what Akatsuki wants?"

"We are no longer Akatsuki. We must leave. Not much time is left."

Arashi and Itachi did a complex series of seals and the ceiling above them slowly began to part. When it was wide enough for a body to pass through, Arashi beckoned Itachi to go first followed by Yugito.

"Fire shadow. A word with you before we join them," requested the demon lord.

"Yes?"

"When with Nii Yugito…call me by your son's name…"

Arashi raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Why?"

"I do not want her to know…what I am. She is a jinchuuriki…she will be spiteful towards bijuu. I do not want to complicate things."

"I understand. I will also inform Itachi of this. Thank you for the forethought."

The two quickly followed suit before the opening slowly closed its mouth and left not a trace of their departure.

The searing sunlight bombarded Yugito's eyes with a vengeance. She took her time to let her eyes adjust and breathed the wonderful fresh air deeply. She looked about and absorbed the endless plains of grassland that surrounded her.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Water country," and as Arashi replied, his body transformed until all vestiges of the Akatsuki leader disappeared. His hair became golden and tamed slightly by a Konoha hitai-ate, and his black coat of the red dawn faded to white with flames at the bottom symbolizing the Will of Fire. Metal braces covered in navy blue cloth shielded his arms and proud kanji stood out on the back of his white coat, proclaiming him as the Yondaime Hokage.

Itachi discarded his slashed hitai-ate and replaced it with an unblemished one, the symbol of Konoha proud and clear. He attached ANBU arm and shin guards and donned the Akatsuki cloak once more.

Arashi faced his team and said, "We head for Wave country. Any enemy forces we encounter, we take out. From there we divide into groups. Kitsune-san, you and Yugito will head for Kumo. Itachi and I will head for Konoha, then Suna."

"Father, you forget that my name is Naruto," the Demon Lord corrected.

Arashi suppressed his chagrin while Itachi had raised an inquiring eyebrow and Yugito thought this family as very very strange.

"Er…Forgive me, my son." Arashi continued. "As I was saying, three massive armies will be attacking. The first army comes from _Taki no Kuni_ consisting of disavowed samurai and missing-nin. They have further enlarged their army from Otogakure deserters after Orochimaru's death. Also, we've recently found out that the Hidden Waterfall Village and the Hidden Village of Grass have a strong alliance. This army will attack Kumogakure."

"**Whoa! Orochimaru is dead? How?!?"**

"Father, how did Orochimaru die?" asked Kyuubi.

Arashi glanced at Itachi then replied, "Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke, killed him. Naruto, I will fill you in later.

Meanwhile, the second assault will occur towards Suna. The enemy consists of Iwa shinobi, a samurai army from Bird Country, and Amegakure shinobi.

The third assault will be made against Fire Country. Ki…Naruto, you do know who Danzou really is, don't you?"

"Yes…"

"Good. Itachi and I on the other hand only found out recently. It seems Danzou made military negotiations with Tea Country. He promised the Tea Country's Daimyo that Fire Country would become part of Tea, and in return, Danzou gets to control the Hidden Villages in the new unified country. Tea country's army will make the external attack, Danzou makes the internal one. Him and his ANBU of the Root."

"Kumo and Suna will be attacked first and in the same time," added Itachi. "The Army responsible for Suna will do a slow march so that they will be noticed by Suna scouts, but this will only be a relatively small force, but enough to appear larger in size than Suna's shinobi army. Suna will then call for aid from Konoha, and once Konoha's forces have been mobilized, Danzou strikes Konoha. As Konoha shinobi head for Suna, the hidden bulk of Iwa's army will ambush them, and proceed to attack Suna."

"How'd you come by all this information? Surely rumors of such enormous military expeditions…word gets out," asked Yugito.

"It pays to be a famous missing-nin," replied Itachi. "Other missing-nin are more open to gossip with you. Also, Danzou of the root is a master of manipulation while cloaked in secrecy. Many ANBU Root operations in Konoha have been executed even without the knowledge of the Hokage."

Yugito held a frown and said, "But against such large masses…and with only the four of us…"

Arashi smiled at her and replied, "Two jinchuuriki can turn the tide for Kumo. And I think a sharingan and the Yellow-flash will do the same for Suna and Konoha. We will not attack head on. To do so only assures our downfall. Our aim is to buy time. Make the enemy lose momentum, inform our villages, and we will win. Now…move out."

* * *


End file.
